Be a part of Francisco's healing and dream!
Donation protected
This is Francisco, from Jalisco, Mexico. He is a day laborer and construction worker in Seattle, Washington. He is currently facing a critical health crisis with no access to health insurance or governmental benefits and he needs community support.
In the last year Francisco has had a series of operations and issues with his health and can no longer work. Francisco has given the best years of his life to the Seattle community, tending to our yards and homes, devoting his time and talent to making our community more beautiful for nearly 20 years.
Despite his profound contributions and being an essential worker, Francisco has no access to governmental programs in place to support people as they age and and/or cannot work. Francisco has no family in the US. He is the sole provider for his family in Mexico, including his 88 year old mother. He has been unable to pay his own rent or send money home in months.
Francisco is a self-taught artist. He first reached out to me to help him find a buyer for his intricately beaded Chaquira Virgen to help cover his bills and costs of living as he heads into an uncertain future of more surgeries and the pandemic. In deeper conversation with Francisco, I discovered he did not want to sell his Virgen.
When he first started creating the piece, his intention was to be able to donate it to his local Catholic church, Holy Family, in White Center, Washington. He made a promise to God- if he could someday have the money he needs to cover his costs of living and buy the costly materials, he would donate his beloved Virgen to his church and then go on to share his artistic gifts with the world.
His dream of a lifetime is to share his art with his three most sacred places: his church in White Center; his childhood church in Florencia, Zacatecas, Mexico, and in the home of his mother, Felipa, who resides in Mexico.
Let's give back to Francisco after his many years of service to our community. Your donation can help him fulfill his dream to share his artistic gifts with the community AND help him recover with the financial peace and assurance we all deserve in our older years.
Please see the KUOW article and video below covering Francisco's Virgen in 2016. The below is the piece in its final state. Since the article was published, he has completed the beading around the Virgen; framed the piece and covered it with a thin plastic glass.
https://www.kuow.org/stories/how-lonely-man-turned-solitude-beauty/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcQ-IhFbccc
In the last year Francisco has had a series of operations and issues with his health and can no longer work. Francisco has given the best years of his life to the Seattle community, tending to our yards and homes, devoting his time and talent to making our community more beautiful for nearly 20 years.
Despite his profound contributions and being an essential worker, Francisco has no access to governmental programs in place to support people as they age and and/or cannot work. Francisco has no family in the US. He is the sole provider for his family in Mexico, including his 88 year old mother. He has been unable to pay his own rent or send money home in months.
Francisco is a self-taught artist. He first reached out to me to help him find a buyer for his intricately beaded Chaquira Virgen to help cover his bills and costs of living as he heads into an uncertain future of more surgeries and the pandemic. In deeper conversation with Francisco, I discovered he did not want to sell his Virgen.
When he first started creating the piece, his intention was to be able to donate it to his local Catholic church, Holy Family, in White Center, Washington. He made a promise to God- if he could someday have the money he needs to cover his costs of living and buy the costly materials, he would donate his beloved Virgen to his church and then go on to share his artistic gifts with the world.
His dream of a lifetime is to share his art with his three most sacred places: his church in White Center; his childhood church in Florencia, Zacatecas, Mexico, and in the home of his mother, Felipa, who resides in Mexico.
Let's give back to Francisco after his many years of service to our community. Your donation can help him fulfill his dream to share his artistic gifts with the community AND help him recover with the financial peace and assurance we all deserve in our older years.
Please see the KUOW article and video below covering Francisco's Virgen in 2016. The below is the piece in its final state. Since the article was published, he has completed the beading around the Virgen; framed the piece and covered it with a thin plastic glass.
https://www.kuow.org/stories/how-lonely-man-turned-solitude-beauty/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcQ-IhFbccc
Organizer
Emily Gaggia
Organizer
Seattle, WA