Dear friends, family, and kind strangers,

My sister Julia passed away on Monday, September 29. She was 42. This loss leaves a lot of struggle and grief in its wake, especially for her daughter, Sofiya, age 12. Sofiya is being raised by Julia's wonderful partner, Dan, and they are going to need a lot of help.

Julia, Dan, and Sofiya were already living on a very tight budget, and Julia’s passing means that their financial situation just became more tenuous. As Dan moves into the role of being a single parent to Sofiya, they will need more support than Dan can provide, especially with the added costs of funeral expenses and moving to a new apartment.

Your contributions will ease some of the stress of this challenging transition. They need to move out of their apartment by the end of the month, and Dan will need legal support to officially gain custody of Sofiya in addition to paying for the funeral expenses. These are big and unexpected expenses, so anything that you can contribute would be helpful.

Your help will allow Dan and Sofiya to navigate this really difficult time. Your donation will help ensure that Sofiya has other support she may need, such as access to groups, sports, tutoring, and programs to help her cope and heal from this horrible loss and maintain her life as a child with a bright future ahead. We love her and we want the world for her. Please give generously, whatever you can. We are blessed with a beloved and generous community, and we hope that you can share a bit of your resources to help my niece and her caregiver during this incredibly difficult time.

With deepest gratitude and love, Quin