Helping Hand for Ali Dowson and Fam
Donation protected
Ali’s Family Story
Like most of us, Ali's story begins at birth, she is now a 22-year-old college student studying Nuclear Medicine at Old Dominion University. Between then and now Ali's life has taken more than one unfortunate turn. While Ali was in Elementary School her father passed away. Since then it has been her, her older sister and her mom, Mary Harrison.
As you can imagine, money has been tight for this family for quite some time. Both Ali and her sister, Marissa, have contributed their earnings throughout high school and college just to pay the bills.
As long as I have known Ali (over 4 years), her Mom has been battling stage 4 ovarian cancer. This past fall her Mom just had her second brain surgery to remove multiple tumors and is currently undergoing a second 6-month long round of chemotherapy. This is in addition to numerous radiation treatments throughout the time I have known them. Throughout it all, Mary, continues to fight with unrelenting tenacity. There is no doubt where Ali gets her determination. What is truly remarkable, however, is how positive, how happy, and how willing this family is to help others. I do not know another family that is more in need of a helping hand and is also more willing to go out of their way to help others. That being said, I also cannot overstate the level of increasing difficulty this family has experienced with the multitude of medical bills added to the already tenuous financial situation.
This past fall, Mrs. Harrison's cancer progressed to the point where she can no longer work. In a household already strapped, Ali’s family continues to remain positive, united, and determined. In spite of this determination though, the bills keep mounting and the hits keep coming. Last month Ali, while on her way home from class was side swiped in the family car by a girl trying to make a right turn from the left lane because that is what the GPS told her to do. Of course, the insurance company decided to total her car instead of repair it even though it was drivable and the $1500 blue book value is insufficient to find a reliable replacement. I can see that this last hit, although minor compared to the magnitude of the others, has finally begun to take its toll Ali’s family’s perpetual positivity.
Hopefully, I have appropriately established the validity of need for assistance. The real purpose of this fund however, is not to try to compensate for hardships past but rather to secure a positive outcome in the future. As I said, Ali is a college student at Old Dominion University. She received her Associates Degree, with honors, from Tidewater Community College two years ago and started on her Bachelor's at ODU last year. This past fall she was 1 of 12 candidates accepted into the nuclear medicine program and has maintained her honors status into her ODU career. This summer Ali will be required to do an UNPAID internship in the Nuclear Medicine Department at a local hospital. The 40+ hours a week she will spend at the hospital will not leave much time for her typical summer hobby of working 60+ hours a week. Of course, this is all at a time when what she should really be focused on is taking care of and spending time with her Mom to the max extent possible. I simply do not know how they will do it without a little help along the way and that is what this fund is for.
The Fund
Through this fund, I am requesting a helping hand for Ali Dowson. I don't think of this as charity and I don't want Ali and her family to think of it that way either. I think of this a more of a "Thank You” to them for the inspiration they provide and an investment for you and I. This fund is a statement of thanks to a truly wonderful person, who in spite of tremendous adversity and hardship is a good person on the path to greatness. This greatness is not the rich and famous greatness but rather the everyday greatness that makes the world a better place. In that regard, this fund is an investment in a better world because I have no doubt that whatever kindness we can show with this fund for Ali and her family, Ali will in turn increase it a 1000 fold with the help and kindness she will show others throughout her personal and profession life. I just want to do whatever possible to make the path a little smoother and the journey a little nicer.
Why $100,000 Goal
I would like to provide absolute assurance that Ali will have the financial means to complete what she has started. That she will be able to focus on the truly important things, her Mom and her education.
Update: Some have asked why $100k. First, I should say this is my number, not Ali's. When I came up with this number I had very lofty goals on what I wanted for them. My thought was to not just make a very difficult situation bearable but make it good and special. I budgeted $30k for medical bills, $30k for household expenses for a year, $20k to finish school, $10k for a reliable car, and $10k for a family vacation to build memories that go beyond treatment centers. I know from personal experience the tremendous value this can have for a family being affected by cancer.
The facts are, any amount will help but $100k is also not inflated. In the last 6 months this family went from 3 incomes to 2 and with that came a major change in medical insurance. Income went down and medical bills way up. If Ali is going to continue in Nuclear medicine those 2 income will go down to 1 for the summer while she does her medical internship.
What I know is, if you have ever had someone you love be a victim of cancer you want someone just like Ali caring for them and helping with their treatment. That is the true goal of this fund. To get this family through the next six months. If we can do that then world will be a little brighter for future cancer victims. Thanks you for your generosity. I know I asking for a lot, for you to give your hard earned money for someone you may not even know, to that I can only ask for your trust because I know with all my heart it is the right thing to do.
Who am I
I am a friend of Ali's; I have known her for over 4 years. I am also a Commander in the U.S. Navy with over 19 years of service. I have a Master's Degree in Engineering. I have been responsible for the operation and maintenance of nuclear reactors for 18 of those 19 years. I am currently part of the senior leadership team that oversees more than $1.2 billion dollars of maintenance on U.S. Navy ships every year. I have a loving wife, an absolutely awesome 10-year-old son, and a spoiled 12-year-old canine. By most standards I am fairly successful but yet, with all this, I still find myself striving to be more like a 22-year-old college student studying nuclear medicine.
Like most of us, Ali's story begins at birth, she is now a 22-year-old college student studying Nuclear Medicine at Old Dominion University. Between then and now Ali's life has taken more than one unfortunate turn. While Ali was in Elementary School her father passed away. Since then it has been her, her older sister and her mom, Mary Harrison.
As you can imagine, money has been tight for this family for quite some time. Both Ali and her sister, Marissa, have contributed their earnings throughout high school and college just to pay the bills.
As long as I have known Ali (over 4 years), her Mom has been battling stage 4 ovarian cancer. This past fall her Mom just had her second brain surgery to remove multiple tumors and is currently undergoing a second 6-month long round of chemotherapy. This is in addition to numerous radiation treatments throughout the time I have known them. Throughout it all, Mary, continues to fight with unrelenting tenacity. There is no doubt where Ali gets her determination. What is truly remarkable, however, is how positive, how happy, and how willing this family is to help others. I do not know another family that is more in need of a helping hand and is also more willing to go out of their way to help others. That being said, I also cannot overstate the level of increasing difficulty this family has experienced with the multitude of medical bills added to the already tenuous financial situation.
This past fall, Mrs. Harrison's cancer progressed to the point where she can no longer work. In a household already strapped, Ali’s family continues to remain positive, united, and determined. In spite of this determination though, the bills keep mounting and the hits keep coming. Last month Ali, while on her way home from class was side swiped in the family car by a girl trying to make a right turn from the left lane because that is what the GPS told her to do. Of course, the insurance company decided to total her car instead of repair it even though it was drivable and the $1500 blue book value is insufficient to find a reliable replacement. I can see that this last hit, although minor compared to the magnitude of the others, has finally begun to take its toll Ali’s family’s perpetual positivity.
Hopefully, I have appropriately established the validity of need for assistance. The real purpose of this fund however, is not to try to compensate for hardships past but rather to secure a positive outcome in the future. As I said, Ali is a college student at Old Dominion University. She received her Associates Degree, with honors, from Tidewater Community College two years ago and started on her Bachelor's at ODU last year. This past fall she was 1 of 12 candidates accepted into the nuclear medicine program and has maintained her honors status into her ODU career. This summer Ali will be required to do an UNPAID internship in the Nuclear Medicine Department at a local hospital. The 40+ hours a week she will spend at the hospital will not leave much time for her typical summer hobby of working 60+ hours a week. Of course, this is all at a time when what she should really be focused on is taking care of and spending time with her Mom to the max extent possible. I simply do not know how they will do it without a little help along the way and that is what this fund is for.
The Fund
Through this fund, I am requesting a helping hand for Ali Dowson. I don't think of this as charity and I don't want Ali and her family to think of it that way either. I think of this a more of a "Thank You” to them for the inspiration they provide and an investment for you and I. This fund is a statement of thanks to a truly wonderful person, who in spite of tremendous adversity and hardship is a good person on the path to greatness. This greatness is not the rich and famous greatness but rather the everyday greatness that makes the world a better place. In that regard, this fund is an investment in a better world because I have no doubt that whatever kindness we can show with this fund for Ali and her family, Ali will in turn increase it a 1000 fold with the help and kindness she will show others throughout her personal and profession life. I just want to do whatever possible to make the path a little smoother and the journey a little nicer.
Why $100,000 Goal
I would like to provide absolute assurance that Ali will have the financial means to complete what she has started. That she will be able to focus on the truly important things, her Mom and her education.
Update: Some have asked why $100k. First, I should say this is my number, not Ali's. When I came up with this number I had very lofty goals on what I wanted for them. My thought was to not just make a very difficult situation bearable but make it good and special. I budgeted $30k for medical bills, $30k for household expenses for a year, $20k to finish school, $10k for a reliable car, and $10k for a family vacation to build memories that go beyond treatment centers. I know from personal experience the tremendous value this can have for a family being affected by cancer.
The facts are, any amount will help but $100k is also not inflated. In the last 6 months this family went from 3 incomes to 2 and with that came a major change in medical insurance. Income went down and medical bills way up. If Ali is going to continue in Nuclear medicine those 2 income will go down to 1 for the summer while she does her medical internship.
What I know is, if you have ever had someone you love be a victim of cancer you want someone just like Ali caring for them and helping with their treatment. That is the true goal of this fund. To get this family through the next six months. If we can do that then world will be a little brighter for future cancer victims. Thanks you for your generosity. I know I asking for a lot, for you to give your hard earned money for someone you may not even know, to that I can only ask for your trust because I know with all my heart it is the right thing to do.
Who am I
I am a friend of Ali's; I have known her for over 4 years. I am also a Commander in the U.S. Navy with over 19 years of service. I have a Master's Degree in Engineering. I have been responsible for the operation and maintenance of nuclear reactors for 18 of those 19 years. I am currently part of the senior leadership team that oversees more than $1.2 billion dollars of maintenance on U.S. Navy ships every year. I have a loving wife, an absolutely awesome 10-year-old son, and a spoiled 12-year-old canine. By most standards I am fairly successful but yet, with all this, I still find myself striving to be more like a 22-year-old college student studying nuclear medicine.
Organizer and beneficiary
Willliam Koszarek
Organizer
Chesapeake, VA
Ali Dowson
Beneficiary