My name is Alex and I have been a friend of Val's since we were 16 years old living in Hong Kong.

Since Val's cancer diagnosis, I know we have all struggled to find meaningful ways to help them.

Val and Alex visited me in Atlanta a few weeks ago and brought up their apartment not being as functional and relaxing as it should be. Their apartment in the past two years has become a place of work for Alex, a place of rest for Val and a place socially where they invite people over.

As Alex is a coffee roasting, project cook I think a few upgrades to their apartment would bring a sense of peace for Val and joy for Alex as so much of their time together is spent making music, cooking and enjoying lots of espressos.

Ideas for the money would be to go towards:

As Val and Alex's network reaches far and wide please pass this along to friends and family, but please do not share with Val and Alex. They may be mad at me for doing this initially, but sometimes in a long-standing friendship, it is better to ask for forgiveness!