Hello! I’m Rhys, and I've started a GoFundMe for my best friend, Everett Vera. Everett was born in Arlington, Virginia where his mom, Carolina, raised him as a single mother and worked hard to ensure he had a decent education, which she believes is the backbone for success. I met Everett in the third grade, and we have been through thick and thin together; he’s smart, he’s resourceful, he works hard, but most importantly, he’s family.

COVID-19 disrupted all our lives, but put a severe dent in their family plans. Carolina needed to return to Paraguay to take care of her mother during the pandemic, and since Everett graduated high school last year in 2020, he decided he wanted to stay and find work in order to send money back to Paraguay to help his mother and grandmother. Despite never really knowing his father, his father allowed him to stay in his trailer for a few months in the Outer banks of North Carolina where Everett was able to find seasonal work. The work eventually ran dry and his father also began facing legal and financial troubles of his own. Everett’s father had to sell everything he owned, including the trailer, to pay for legal fees and is now in jail and unable to help his son further.

Everett had no choice but to leave and return to Virginia to live with his father’s sister on her farm. Everett has worked hard, saving every penny he can, but job opportunities and security during a pandemic hasn’t been easy for a kid fresh out of high school. Unfortunately, jobs scarcity is also something Carolina was facing in Paraguay and she needed to return to the States to find work to support herself and her family sufficiently. Everett’s aunt agreed to let them both stay on their farm for a few days, but unfortunately they were forced to leave due to his aunt’s personal circumstances.

Everett reached out to me for help, and without hesitation our family welcomed them to stay until they are able to get on their feet. A safe and secure home, a stable income, food on the table…these are all things that most of us, including myself, take for granted – things that can be gone in an instant if you lose your income. All Everett and his mom want is a fresh start, a new beginning, and a chance at making a stable home for themselves.

Ever since we were kids, Everett has dreamed of studying mechanical engineering, settling in the southwest, having a home of his own, and eventually a family. His love for the southwest started with our friendship. My mom’s family is from New Mexico, and the stories she told him over the years and the pictures she shared of our family and home in Las Cruces, made him fall in love. The serenity, the simplicity and the support system he would have there make it a smart move for them. He doesn’t want or need material things, but he does want stability and the ability to work and plant some roots in New Mexico; a place that he can envision calling ‘home.’

Everett is determined and has managed to save close to $1100 for the trip. Everett also has an offer from the grandparents of his friends to take them in during their first few months there, if they can make their way down to Albuquerque. At the same time, a friend of ours who unfortunately has Parkinson’s Disease, agreed to let Everett purchase his old Subaru and make monthly payments – he has 18 more months of payments before he can call the car his own! My granddad has already offered to let Everett stay with him in Las Cruces while he goes on interviews and searches for apartments from Albuquerque. While he has a dream to study mechanical engineering, he knows he has to work his way up and save up for college. He’s good with his hands and cars, and wants to find work as a mechanic in the meantime.

I want the best for Everett – he’s my family – and I can’t let him go somewhere without support and a plan. I want him to go with the ability to survive in case it takes longer for him and his mother to find work. It’s not incredibly easy in a pandemic at the moment, and I want him to be prepared for this. In the meantime, Everett and his mom, Carolina are currently staying with me and my parents until they can save up enough funds to support themselves in the first several months of their journey to stability. We scoped out what it would cost to live in New Mexico, what first month’s rent-security deposit, gas, food and other expenses would cost, and still maintain payments for the car and send money to his grandmother. We calculated that they will need a minimum savings of $5000 to support their journey down there and for the first 4-6 months until they have secure paychecks coming in. I’ve started this fund with a few hundred dollars from my own savings.

       If you could support my GoFundMe by making a donation and then sharing it with your family, friends and colleagues, I would greatly appreciate it. All of the donated money goes directly to Everett and his mother. I know that money can be tight, so please know that even $5 helps us get closer to the goal! Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them.

We’re all in this world together, let’s do what we can.

Rhys