Hi, My name is Tim. This fundraiser is not for me. I believe in miracles, and this will be one.

This project is for Eric Le. A junior at College for Creative Studies near Detroit MI.

Eric is an international student who has studied abroad in America since his junior year in high school.

With CCS being the third school he's attended in America, he's on track to get his BA in Digital film. Eric attended Washtenaw Community College (located in Ypsilanti Mi) in preparation for CCS.

Much like everyone else, Covid-19 has impacted not only his life, but his home life as well. Home being Vietnam. Eric has not gone home in over 3 years due to covid. When everyone else left, he stayed and studied.

Starting in April 2021, Vietnam has experienced a massive outbreak of C-19. The outbreak has affected both his mom and dad's businesses. Vietnam is currently on a massive shutdown period. With time, the shutdown has run his father’s lumber company into the ground. He stated, and I quote, "The Factory was shut down and the wood inside the warehouse was moldy due to no workers taking care of it.” The company went bankrupt & his father does not know when they will be able to get back to work. While his father’s company failed, his mother had to shut the doors to her clothing company due to no customers. He stated, and I quote, "The supplies are sitting on the shelf collecting dust". While this is all tragic, it is the current reality of life across the big blue ocean.

Eric's parents do not only support Eric but they also support his younger brother who is currently studying abroad in Australia. His brother is very close to graduating High School (May 2022) and their dream is to reconnect in Michigan.

Eric wants his parents to give the rest of the support to his brother to graduate High School in hopes of a brighter future. His parents want nothing more but a bright future for these two young men. I admire his parents. They both decided to dedicate a portion of their lives to better the lives of the two sons who they can only FaceTime with.

Eric Le works harder than any human I've ever met. He helps everyone. He never says no and takes on a massive workload for a young man who just wants to study. He is prepared to drop out. He puts himself 2nd.

Back story:

I met Eric a little over three years ago when he first moved to Michigan. We both came to the quick realization that we both love Sony Cameras. I had a Sony a6500 at the time and he had a Sony a7iii. We both lived in the same apartment complex. He lived by himself and I with my brother. We quickly realized that we did not like apartment life. We made a plan to escape that life. I bought a fix-up house. Growing up, my father made roughly 16k a year to support a family of six. I was raised with the mentality that if you ever wanted something, that's fine but it's on you to figure it out.

Update to current time. December 2021

We've all been living in the house together. I was promoted up, and I am currently working as a manager in retail. Eric attends school full-time, and my brother works full-time as well. Along the journey, a friend of mine got out of the navy and is currently living with the crew.

Eric has not only impacted all of our lives but he's also a local favorite. He's a pure genuine genius who we all love.

On December 1st, 2021, Eric informed me of the situation at hand, meaning that time is limited and time is of the essence. He is reaching out to CCS to try and increase his scholarship to a full ride. However, if he does not make the timeline of raising $15,000 USD by December 13th, 2021, he will be forced to return to Vietnam, and lose all the progress he's worked on for over 5 years, between American high school and college.

Anything helps, please share.

Friends & Family.

It'd mean the world to Eric and to all of us as well.

Happy Holidays.

Sincerely Timmy Coons, housemate to Eric Le.

PS, any extra funds will go towards Eric's future tuition.

Update: 1/10/2022

Sorry for the late update, but I figured a late update is better then no update!

 Thank you to everyone who helped. We couldn’t have done it without you. Long story short, we were able to figure it out. 

Eric just started his first day of school at CCS today. 

He is taking 6 classes. On-top of the normal classes, he is enrolled in an independent study program as well. He plans to make the most out of this semester due to the situation he faced. That being said, with the $7,280 USD that you all helped with, each penny went towards his collage bill. That is literally insane so thank you all so much. 

Eric applied for financial help at CCS & they were able to offer him a grant of $2,500 per semester. At the time of him applying for the grant, the previous semester had yet to end, so they granted him a total of $5,000 to cover both current and future semesters. 

That being said, we were now at $12,280… very close but not there. With time running out, I was able to quickly bridge the gap to help Eric.

We did it & I cannot express my gratitude enough to each & every single one of you who donated how grateful I truly am. You helped a young man not only stay in school, but also secure his student visa in the US of A. Pat yourself on the back because as a team, we did a good thing. 

Thank you all,

& the future is looking bright!

Sincerely - Timmy