Dear Facebook and Family Friends,

On December 9th, Kethine and her son Fred (who is 10 years old) were involved in a head-on collision as she was driving Fred to school. Kethine thankfully sustained minor injuries and is already on her road to recovery. However, Fred was rushed to Riley Children’s Hospital where he had to undergo surgery for internal injuries. Thankfully, surgery went well, but he will be staying in the hospital for about another week and his recovery will be a little slower.

I wanted to give you a little background on how I was able to meet and know Kethine, who is an amazing friend, mother, and all-around person. Fred attends Gray Road Christian School, which is the same school Amelia went to, when we were living in Indianapolis. I would pass Kethine and Fred almost every morning on Thompson Road when dropping off and picking Amelia up from school. They would be walking on the side of the road, and I would be driving. I wanted to reach out to this woman, who I’d see walking sometimes in the blistering heat or pouring rain just to take her son to school, so I finally got the courage and I am so glad I did!

After speaking to her and learning her story, I felt compelled to help. Kethine is a single mother who moved to the United States from Haiti. She doesn’t have any family here and has very few friends to support her during this difficult time. For my Indy friends, this might make a little more sense. They rent an apartment in Speedway, IN and they would walk to the bus stop closest to their house. They would board their first bus, which would take them to the downtown bus station. There, they would board their second bus, which would take them to the bus stop on Emerson Ave. They would then walk approximately 1.5 miles to Fred’s school. I was floored and amazed at this woman’s strength, selflessness, sacrifice, and dedication- all in order to provide her child with a better opportunity. Keep in mind that she had to do this FOUR times a day as she would drop him off in the morning, head back home, and then pick him back up at the end of the school day and return home.

I began taking Fred to and from school almost daily or as often as our schedule would allow. During the last few months of the school year (2023-2024), Kethine worked very hard to save enough money to buy herself a used vehicle. Having this vehicle made life so much easier for her! She was able to drive Fred to and from school, as well as drive herself to and from work. Unfortunately, her car was totaled in the accident, and she is now relying solely on Uber and Lyft rides for transportation. She will most likely have to take time off work (which means she will not be paid) as she will need to care for Fred once he’s well enough to return home.

I realize this can be a difficult time financially for many (as we approach the holidays), but if you are able to donate anything, I promise you that it couldn’t go to a more deserving person! ANYTHING will help- NO amount of money is too little.

Please reach out if you have any questions. Let’s band together to help this amazing mother and her child to get through these challenging times. If you are unable to help financially, they’d appreciate your prayers and good thoughts!

Thank you for reading this and for your donations!

Christina Schindler