This fundraiser is for my niece and nephew. They experienced the devastating loss of their mother. My sister-in-law, Jen, unexpectedly passed away last week.

I struggle to think of how to describe Jen. My mind floods with examples of her kindness, her common sense straight to the point, no bullsh*t communication, her protection of her loved ones and animals, and how she moved through life demonstrating kindness- teaching her children and their friends lessons that left lasting impressions that inspire them to follow her lead for years to come.

She was THE MOM. Remember that mother from your younger years who took the less fortunate in? Who provided comfort and food, and love to those who were without. That was Jen.

She was also an organ donor. In the end, she was able to gift her liver, kidneys, and heart valves. Jen provided another chance at life to patients uncertain of the time they had left. When we heard that viable donors were found, we experienced more emotions than words describe. Our loss and her release of life provided relief to the patients and their families.

They have been granted more time, and now we are seeking assistance of generous donors to provide Sam and Bella with more time to move through their grief without worrying about rent, transport to school and work, groceries, clothes, dog and cat food, and comfort.

By the way, her pitbull, Mai is also feeling the loss and will not understand what happened but continues to honor their routine- 9:30 bedtime, long weekend walks, and nightly tuck-ins with soft blankets.

There is no such thing as deserve; if there were, this GoFundMe wouldn't exist because Jen would still be here. But we, as a community, can work together to provide the closest thing to "deserve" - loving care and assistance for her children. They deserve to be protected in the same way Jen would have done. We need to get them what they need to get where they need to be - safe and provided for.