Help Knox and Rachel Rebuild After Fire

To anyone reading this, my name is Jaird Minton. I live in North Little Rock, AR with my wife and best friend, Joy.

I have many passions including selling real estate, which I have been doing in the Central, AR area for almost 8 years now. My other passion is Art. I have enjoyed all forms of Art since I was a kid and graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville with a fine arts degree with an emphasis in visual design. I have my own art studio at the St. Joseph Center in North Little Rock. Joy is an aesthetic nurse and also a full-time realtor and we both work for Signature Properties. Some of my other passions are going to concerts and spending time with friends and family and helping others.

Today after a fantastic four-day weekend to see Joy's favorite band, Electric Light Orchestra, I got a call from a good buddy of mine and he told me that another very good friend of mine was going through something I know I couldn't even imagine and that's why I am up at 3:30 am writing this.

I have known Knox McCorquodale for roughly 15 years. He, like me, also went to the University of Arkansas where he played baseball.

We met through mutual friends and would always hang out together at concerts and parties. He is probably one of the funniest guys I have ever met in my life and loves cats. He and his beautiful wife, Rachel, live in Austin, TX with their lovely daughter, Margo, who is just as funny as her dad. Seeing them when we frequent, Austin is always such a treat, and I can't wait to see them again.

This weekend they were going to attend another of our favorite musician, Pretty Lights, show at Austin City Limits to celebrate Rachel's Birthday. Instead, they got a call from their neighbor saying that their house was on fire.

Thank God, they were on their way to the concert and Margo was staying with a friend, so they are all safe and not harmed. But, they have lost everything, including one of their cats. I cannot imagine what the last 24 hours has felt like for them. Getting the news that your house and all of your belongings has gone up in flames, not to mention a beloved pet, on your birthday! Then having to break that news to your little girl. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

I have spent the entire day trying to think of ways to help them out, but I know there is nothing I alone can do to come close to help especially living 8 hours away from them. Then it hit me to start a fundraiser. I have donated to many fundraisers, but I have never started one on my own. I am still figuring this out as I go but I will make the McCorquodales the beneficiaries of this campaign so all donated funds will go to them.

We all need a little help sometimes, and this amazing family needs all the help they can get right now. I have never done this before so I am setting my campaign goal at what I think is an achievable number.