Help Don Russell's Family!
Donation protected
On July 14, our friend Don Russell passed away from cancer, leaving behind his wife Jolie and son Skylar. In addition to medical bills, Don's family is now facing several other expenses that need to be paid.
As a lifelong collector of classic video games, Don was a fixture in the game collecting community. He was also as generous as he was kind: In his collecting, he would occasionally find rare prototype copies of unreleased video games, and instead of keeping them for himself would make them available to the community, and to history.
Games that Don has saved include the Sega Saturn versions of 'Heart of Darkness', 'Prize Fighter', and 'Armed'.
Although he was only recently diagnosed with cancer, Don struggled with severe medical issues for much of his life. He had severe diabetes that led to dual kidney failure and years of dialysis. Jolie, like Don, also has a disability, and their combined needs resulted in bills adding up over the years, since neither of them were able to address several issues. She now needs help raising funds for a variety of necessities.
Most urgently, she has recently found that $9,000 in property taxes are owed on the family's home. Since there has been an amount due for years, it is possible that the home will be repossessed and auctioned unless she is able to pay off the taxes.
Remaining medical bills total about $5,000.
Other expenses that will have to be paid for in the months to come: The home's single bathroom is also in serious disrepair, and the family has been given an estimate of $8,000 to repair the damage. There is also extensive yard work that needs to be done on the property that will cost about $1,500. And the family car needs $2,500 worth of repairs.
Jolie and Skylar plan to raise more funds in the coming months and years for ongoing expenses, but the process is slow and funds are needed more urgently.
As a lifelong collector of classic video games, Don was a fixture in the game collecting community. He was also as generous as he was kind: In his collecting, he would occasionally find rare prototype copies of unreleased video games, and instead of keeping them for himself would make them available to the community, and to history.
Games that Don has saved include the Sega Saturn versions of 'Heart of Darkness', 'Prize Fighter', and 'Armed'.
Although he was only recently diagnosed with cancer, Don struggled with severe medical issues for much of his life. He had severe diabetes that led to dual kidney failure and years of dialysis. Jolie, like Don, also has a disability, and their combined needs resulted in bills adding up over the years, since neither of them were able to address several issues. She now needs help raising funds for a variety of necessities.
Most urgently, she has recently found that $9,000 in property taxes are owed on the family's home. Since there has been an amount due for years, it is possible that the home will be repossessed and auctioned unless she is able to pay off the taxes.
Remaining medical bills total about $5,000.
Other expenses that will have to be paid for in the months to come: The home's single bathroom is also in serious disrepair, and the family has been given an estimate of $8,000 to repair the damage. There is also extensive yard work that needs to be done on the property that will cost about $1,500. And the family car needs $2,500 worth of repairs.
Jolie and Skylar plan to raise more funds in the coming months and years for ongoing expenses, but the process is slow and funds are needed more urgently.
Organizer and beneficiary
Chris Kohler
Organizer
Santa Cruz, CA
Jolie Russell
Beneficiary
