Francesca and Walter Hawthorne are family to me. They are truly the most loving and kindhearted people imaginable! They have truly struggled in their own lives, but would give you the shirts off their own backs if you were in need.

Walter has Multiple Sclerosis, and is now entirely wheelchair-bound. Yet he maintains an excellent sense of humor, and has a laugh that can be heard a mile away.

Francesca has Parkinson's, yet she continues to take care of Walter as best she can, in addition to painting and gardening. Last year Francesca had brain surgery.

They are now both on disability as their respective neurological conditions have advanced. Recently, Francesca had to stop driving as she no longer feels that it is safe for her to continue to operate a motor vehicle due to her condition.

Pacific Grove, California where they call home is a wonderful little town, but unfortunately public transit options are EXTREMELY limited.

In order to assist them in maintaining their quality of life, and to allow for them to stay in their little cottage where they have lived for many years, the goal is to raise money for Francesca to get a disability scooter that will allow her to continue to go to the nearby grocery store, the pharmacy, the laundromat, etc... safely.

In addition to the cost of the scooter itself, the goal is to raise additional funds for insurance on the scooter, a fund for Uber for those times when they need to go further and public transit isn't available, and funds to help them cover the cost of in-home assistance for things that are now very hard for them to do on their own.

They do the best that they can on disability, but it's very limited funding and social safety nets and food stamps are constantly being cut nowadays. The goal is to provide them with all their primary needs so that they don't have to worry about how to make ends meet and so that they can have some financial security in addition to transportation and in-home support services.

Hence, while the immediate goal of this fundraiser is to provide Francesca with a scooter for urgent transportation needs, GoFundMe now has an option for monthly donations, so people can continue to help out even after the initial fundraising goal is met!