<div>My heart is broken as I write this. My mother, <strong>Denise Elizabeth Dake</strong>, passed away unexpectedly in her sleep. She was only 56 years old, and I am completely devastated. I am her only child, and even though our relationship was complicated at times, I always knew how fiercely she loved me—and I loved her just as much.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>Denise had long struggled with health issues and addiction, which made life challenging for her and for our family. Despite those struggles, she had a big heart. She loved fiercely, especially when it came to her family. If you knew my mom, you know she could be tough but that she cared deeply. It’s hard to imagine life without her voice, her laughter, and her love.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>I find comfort knowing that my mom is finally at peace. I like to think she’s reunited with her own parents and with my brother (her son) who passed away before her. That image of her being embraced by family we’ve lost gives me strength. Still, the pain of losing her so suddenly is something I am struggling to bear.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>Now I’m faced with the heartbreaking task of planning her funeral and cremation on my own. I dropped everything and traveled from my home in Columbia, SC to Buffalo, NY to arrange her services, and I can only be here for five days to get everything done. We have chosen New Comer Cremations &amp; Funerals in Depew, NY to take care of the cremation and a small memorial service for Mom. The cost for a basic service is about $3,200, which is a lot for me to manage by myself right now.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div><strong>I’m hoping to raise enough not only to cover the funeral and cremation costs, but also to honor my mom in the way she deserves.</strong> If possible, I want to bring my husband and our three children up here to Buffalo to say their goodbyes and be with me for support. Right now, I’m here alone because we couldn’t afford the extra plane tickets on such short notice. It breaks my heart that my kids might not get to attend their grandmother’s funeral. In addition, I’ve had to take an unpaid leave from work (about two weeks off) to handle everything and to grieve.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>This is why I’m reaching out for help. I have set a fundraising goal of $7,500. This should cover the $3,200 funeral/cremation expenses, help with travel costs for my husband and three kids to join me here, and offset the lost income from the time I’ve had to take off. I know it’s a lot to ask, and it’s very hard for me to ask for money like this. But any amount you can contribute will truly help and mean more to me than I can express.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>From the bottom of my heart, thank you for even reading this far. If you can donate, please know that you are helping to give my mom a dignified farewell and bringing our family together to mourn and heal. If you’re not able to contribute financially, simply sharing this campaign or leaving a comment with a memory or kind word about my mom would also mean the world to me. Hearing stories about how Denise touched other people’s lives or knowing that others care helps me feel less alone in this loss.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>I am so grateful for any support during this painful time. I’m trying to stay strong and remember that my mom’s love—and the love of those around me—will carry me through. Thank you for helping me honor my mom’s memory and for supporting me as I navigate this heartbreak.

</div>

Shannon Aarseth

Anonymous

Shannon Vane

Scarlet Woodward

Wade and Kathy Miesowicz

BILL Appenheimer

Kathryn Appenheimer

John Appenheimer

June Appenheimer

Marvin Hopkins

Daisy Wilk

Jasmine Nicole

Layla Berg

Nicole Fernandes

Joseph Appenheimer

Shari Evans

Help Honor Denise's Memory and Legacy

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Honor Denise's Memory and Legacy

Still $2,450 to go. Help us build momentum.