At 4:30am on 7.13.22, my friend Amanda received the phone call that her dad had died by suicide. This came as a shock to Amanda, who had not heard from her father since she moved to Missouri 22 years ago, when he cut off all communication with her.

In the weeks following this call, friends of her fathers offered to cover the cremation bill and assist Amanda in auctioning off her father’s things, including several storage unit items, a trailer, and a 4-wheeler.

Amanda was finally able to fly to Montana to retrieve the last of her father’s belongings as well as his ashes. Her dad was an avid gold miner, and she chose to spread his ashes at an old mine in the mountains by Phillipsburg.

Unfortunately, this already difficult task was made even harder when she learned that these friends who had offered to help her did not pay the bill and took all of the money they earned at the auction for themselves. This has since left Amanda in an extremely difficult financial situation, as her father did not have any assets to go toward the bills she now found herself faced with.

There is a silver lining to this situation. Amanda was able to connect with several family members she had not spoken with since she was a child. They made plans to spend the holidays together in Phoenix, but unfortunately this may no longer be possible due to the actions of her father’s “friends.”

Any help would be so appreciated. Amanda is like a sister to me, and she is the type of person to give of herself to others in any way she can. Please help me to give back to her and at least take the financial burden off an already tragic situation. Any extra money collected will go to help Amanda to spend some much-deserved time with her family this holiday season.