Help Dennis and Kristine Overcome Financial Struggles

Hello, we are Dennis and Kristine Cherry. Among our friends many know us as the couple who have run the annual Red Cross Blood Drive at Loscon for the past 35 years. Dennis is also known for his faithful attendance at Calvary Bible Church in Burbank, CA where he also serves with the kitchen staff for their group breakfasts and conferences. Kristine is a networker in the San Fernando Valley as well as a website designer and jewelry design artist.

We are struggling due to many unforeseen circumstances in the past 2-3 years - Kristine's friend and home care client Frank Waller suddenly passed away in the Summer of 2023, her hiatal hernia surgery last year and an upcoming second surgery for a recurring abdominal hernia that has left her unable to work.

Dennis - a former vice-President in the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society - has written the first book of a steampunk trilogy and has an agent lined up waiting to take it and him on as a client, but first it needs to be professionally edited - a cost between $1,600 - $2,000.

The final straws that have crippled our finances as of late were Kristine's EDD insurance running out in April and a hit-and-run accident in February that now has our car reclassified as salvage. Unfortunately, as of September 30th, a new safety inspection law in the state of California (California Code Statute, VEH 11519) demands salvaged cars be fully repaired and inspected before being re-registered. This would require in the neighborhood of $4,000 worth of repairs (more than the car is worth) and the inspection alone is $600!

Dennis's car also needs repairs (a new radiator fan - $400) - and now is dealing with a leak in his radiator, which will eventually also need replacing - another $400.

So the breakdown of our needs looks like this:

$4,000 - new used car for Kristine.

$1,000 - radiator replacement & other car maintenance for Dennis's car.

$2,000 - a professional editor for Dennis's steampunk novel. (His agent is waiting on him - and getting the agent is usually the hard part!)

Anything at all you can contribute would be so welcome - a dollar, $10, $25, $100 or more. If you can't spare anything right now, please share the link to this campaign with your friends. Chances are you all have some mutual friends we both know and are not on Facebook (where we will be sharing this link).