Bring Tim Pershing Home

We are reaching out to all of you who may know Timothy Pershing and Franceska Schifrin, to ask for your help.

At the start of this year, their lives were radically changed when an emergency operation on Tim resulted in complications and then sepsis, which left him with severe organ damage and extreme dementia. He has now been in the hospital since January. Tim may soon be transferred to a long-term care facility while awaiting another surgery in the summer. It appears that insurance won’t cover the cost of the facility or the cost of the hospital. Medical bills are mounting and Franceska faces a future of finding and funding care for Tim as he is not expected to be able to be on his own.

Tim and Fran have been there to help so many of us throughout his lifetime, and now it’s time we help them. Please donate what you can.

Tim touched the lives of everyone he encountered. Maybe he is your relative or a childhood friend from Yardley or Cape Cod. Or maybe you made art or films with him when he was living in Paris or in NY where he met Franceska and they fell in love over 40 years ago.

Perhaps you worked with Tim in the film industry, where he was a beloved key grip. You may have met Tim and Franceska on a movie location or you might have encountered them in Haiti or Sarajevo or Uganda, during their efforts to support causes and bring help and supplies to people in need. Many of you know them from Topanga, Franceska’s hometown, where Tim has been very involved in the community. Or you became acquainted with Tim and Fran as parents to Maya and Jasper, or when he coached your kids in soccer.

Maybe you know Tim because you have seen or are fortunate enough to own a piece of his Art or Photography. Maybe you met him on his travels around the world as a photo journalist. You may have been in class with Tim as he returned to complete his Bachelor’s Degree at Antioch University and a PhD at Brandeis University. Maybe you know him from his years working for LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and CA State Assemblyman Richard Bloom, where he helped with projects like the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Corridor, saving the Malibu Lagoon, legislation to protect the Film Business in LA, where he worked with the unhoused, worked to raise fire safety awareness in the Santa Monica Mountains, and so much more. Perhaps you are one of the fortunate people, for nearly 40 years now, who have gathered at the home of Timothy and Franceska at Thanksgiving, to enjoy the most welcoming holiday ever. If you know Tim and Fran even just a little, then you know that these two people have always been the first to show up for a friend in need, to offer to pay a vet bill, or to gather supplies and medications to send to war refugees or other disasters where people are in need. And now they are in desperate need of our help.

Franceska cannot handle the financial burden ahead on her own. She is in the process of re-thinking her life and every day there is a new hurdle with Tim’s continuing medical needs and costs. Any contribution you can make will help them retain their home and give them a chance at the decent life they deserve. Let’s keep Tim’s vision of hope and generosity in the world alive for his family.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Please share on social media, and send it to anyone who you think would be moved to help.

This GoFundMe is being put together by Tim's lifelong friends Bruce and Whitney McCleery, and Franceska's sister Sara Schifrin.