Building A Bridge for Raven Lewis

My name is Fred Robinson and I'm fundraising for Raven Lewis. There are people God allows to intersect your life who make an indelible imprint on you. Raven Lewis is one of those people. During my two son’s formative years, he had responsibility for the teens at our Church – Bible-Based Fellowship in Tampa, FL. He also trained young men and women in track and field through a non-profit he formed – teaching life’s lessons beyond the track. Raven was a track athlete himself who attended Louisiana State University (LSU) where he earned his master’s degree. He subsequently took his passion for impacting young people to the Hillsborough County Public Schools.

Life happens… In January of this year, Raven lost consciousness during a school event and was rushed to the hospital. This father of five, who was already dealing with lupus, learned that he had congestive heart failure. Unfortunately, he was passed around by local healthcare – in and out of many of the hospitals in the Tampa area – through April 2023. Confusion regarding his insurance at a rehabilitation center led to them dismissing Raven with nowhere to go. I am part of a core group who came alongside Raven to advocate for him. Our efforts have included ensuring Raven’s medical leave from the school system was extended, that medical insurance would continue to be available, get him to medical appointments and that he had lodging, food, and the basic essentials. Each of these, of course, came with a respective cost. The first three months a number of people from the Church gave to support meeting the need. The Church then stepped in and covered the next three months. And in the middle of this, God had an angel in place at Advent Health on Fletcher. As the result of yet another emergency visit, Dr. Marc Bloom, the head of cardiac surgery, became aware of Raven’s situation and committed to ensuring Raven would get the surgeries necessary – a defibrillator and then aortic value repair. Raven’s health situation was changed dramatically in September, and rehabilitation is now on the horizon.

With all the health successes, there still exists the need for food, shelter, car payments, auto and medical insurance, telephone, and other expenses. I know that God did not intend for this story to end with my Brother on the street. There is a need to build a financial bridge to cover key unpaid October expenses (medical insurance, auto payment) by 10/31 and the full budgets for November and December. Raven is hopeful to return to work in 2024. The objective is to engage a collective of Brothers and Sisters willing to build the bridge. The goal is $12,000. Two hundred (200) donations of $60 each would allow us to meet this goal. Of course, donations of any amount are welcome. Let’s bridge Raven’s financial gap and ensure this father of five can navigate these last couple of months before he’s cleared to return to work. I’ll start the building of the bridge with the initial donation.

Monthly Budget

So, let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Galatians 6:9,10 NLT