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The Miksis Family Needs Your Help!

Hi everyone! My name is Dylan Miksis, and I am one of three brothers. My older brother Jonathan is  21 years old, and a Psychology major at Boston College. My younger brother Adam is 17 and an upcoming senior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. He currently works as an EMT for two volunteer rescue squads in the area where we live. After school, he aspires to be a Paramedic. I am 19 years old and a Business Management major at Union County College.


I have created this GoFundMe on behalf of our uncle and caretaker, Anthony DiFrancesco.


Tony needs our help. We have endured a lot of tragedy in our past, including the passing of both our parents, Michelle and David Miksis. Since our parents died, our uncle Tony has been taking care of us for the past 7 years and recently has been straddled with financial burdens he is unable to fix. It has left him very depressed and recently we found out  that we may lose our home very soon as the creditors have come to warn us.


Our father David, was a very good man. He was a fundraiser for the United Children’s Fund, which is a charity that works for children’s rights, survival, development and protection. He always put others in front of himself. He passed away on January 5th, 2001 due to a pneumonia.


Our mother, Michelle was an amazing person. She was a fighter, and in my heart she will be forever known as my greatest inspiration. After the passing of our father, our mother was right there with my brothers and me every step of the way. My uncle Tony moved into our home to help our mother (his sister) and was there to support us and help wherever he could. My mother was disabled and couldn’t walk properly without a cane or brace so when  my uncle worked 7 am to 5 pm shifts every day,  my brothers and I took the responsibility of taking care of her. We missed our dad but ur family unit was still intact.  We were young and in school but together we made it duable. We cleaned the house, mowed the lawn, did our own laundry, and cooked. Then,  in March of 2009, my mom  passed away suddenly.  I can remember that day like nothing else. That day my brothers and uncle stood together, and cried. We were shocked, devastated and didn't know what to do. Not many kids would know what to do in that situation.


The day our mother passed away was the start of us living with our uncle Anthony (Tony). My uncle didn’t question his new role. He knew what he had to do and despite his grief and shock became our legal guardian and caretaker.


Tony tries his best, and my brothers and I are very grateful. He took us under a circumstance in which he never thought would happen; the passing of his sister. He works at Westfield Lumber in the paint department, and is respected and loved by plenty of customers and his coworkers. He has suffered major heart problems in the past 4 years incurring huge medical bills and now has a defibrillator. His salary cannot cover all the expenses and in the past few years we have struggled to put food on the table and pay the bills.



When my brothers and I were young and going through the high school years, Tony did receive some governmental, financial  child support help. This amount was around $800 per child. This helped supplement tony’s salary but once Jonathan and I graduated high school, the benefits stopped.  Once Adam graduates in June of 2017, any government support is finished.   This support was what helped keep us out of financial trouble. You see...Tony’s salary has never been able to keep up with the expenses of living in NJ and supporting three children. But this is where his job is...where our home is.


Our family has been struggling with bills and general necessities for the past 5 years. My uncle has a large amount of debt which he can no longer manage.  He feels like he has failed us, and it’s depressing to see him this way. . He went from a happy man; a man with a mission to help his sister and make sure the kids will be safe and secure, to someone who bears the weight of failure. We don’t think he has failed us and we are desperate to help him.


We are currently at the point where the bills are too much, to the point of where we can’t even buy  groceries. We spend an average of $30 a week to feed 3 people. His salary is just over the level where we can’t apply for food stamps.  And now we just received a notice that eviction from our home is not far off. We risk losing our house because Tony is behind in the mortgage payments and they want to foreclose on the house. He has done so much for us and we can’t believe this is happening. Please help.


We are very thankful for all the help we have received through various charities like the Gateway Foundation, and personal family friends helping us along the way. They have done things that will never be forgotten:: helping us buy clothes, getting school supplies, etc.


I hope this wasn’t too much, and if you read it all, I’d like to thank you. This is something that is hard to talk about with friends, and even strangers. Everything helps, and the Miksis boys all say thank you. We just want to stay in our home and help our uncle. Thank you for your consideration!!
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Donations 

  • Jason Orenberg
    • $100 
    • 7 yrs
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Organiser

Dylan Miksis
Organiser
Scotch Plains, NJ

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