Our dear friend & community member, Chris Farina

After feeling weak and short of breath for months, Chris was admitted to UVA Medical Center last fall for a two-month stay. There he was diagnosed with respiratory-onset ALS.

Chris and Jacqueline’s family and friends seek funding for expenses, as Chris is now on a ventilator and requires a full-time caregiver. With Jacqueline as Chris’s primary caregiver, and both Matthew and Ella away at college, the family needs a wider range of care and support.

Funding will help pay for in-home nursing assistants who are trained in trach and vent care. In-home nursing care is essential to keeping Chris independent and living at home with his family. Still an active filmmaker, Chris has two projects in progress, and being home allows him to continue this work.

With professional care in place, Jacqueline will have more time and ability to manage other aspects of the family’s lives, including oversight of the parking lot business, attention to her personal health care, and an occasional respite. Funds will also allow the family to purchase a customized van that accommodates Chris’s power wheelchair, so that Chris can get to doctors' appointments, catch a film or concert, and be able to visit with family and friends.

Chris is a longtime Charlottesville resident who has always cared deeply for this city and his neighbors.

An award winning film-maker who tells the stories of individuals whose profound contributions to their community have often gone unnoticed, expanding the audience’s notion of what it means to be human. A creative force who hopes to continue working on his current film projects as long as he is able.

A man who loves to travel, especially to Italy, and with Jacqueline. A father who relishes playing tennis and soccer with Matthew and Ella.

A small business owner of the world-famous Corner Parking Lot since 1986.

A fan whose love for his Baltimore Orioles led him to name the family dog after Manny Machado, who was the Orioles third baseman when Manny was adopted by the family.

A community member who has never met a person who wasn’t a friend immediately, and who helped create and produce TEDx Charlottesville for six years, serving as co-chair of the Speakers’ Committee .

Please consider giving. Any amount is appreciated.

On behalf of Chris and the Farina family, we thank you.

Team Farina