Help Mateo Replace Equipment Stolen From His Car

Hello everyone, a group of loved ones have come together to make this fundraiser for Mateo, someone close to our hearts who is going through a tough time.

Who is Mateo?

First and foremost, Mateo is our young, hard-working and beloved friend, husband, and brother. Mateo is an important member of our community. He embodies a warm and encouraging spirit, the type to help anyone and do it with a smile. When he was 18 he moved to the United States from Colombia and built his life from the ground up. Now six years later, he is at the beginning stages of his cinematography career. He has dedicated himself to many projects, some being those which pertain to social movements, women’s empowerment, and environmental sustainability. It hurts us to see such an inspiring person go through a tragic situation that stemmed from his generosity and passion for filmmaking.

Why are we crowdfunding the money?

While in LA , Mateo was asked by a friend to help on a short film for a school project. Mateo happily chose to dedicate his time, efforts and money to work on this film. He took it upon himself to rent equipment that would allow his friend to create the envisioned project.

After weeks of planning, scouting locations, and coordinating schedules, they finally began to shoot the film. Mateo worked tirelessly over the course of three consecutive nights, each night taking over 12 hours to complete. On the last night Mateo pulled into his driveway at 5am with the rented camera equipment. Exhausted, he came home and went straight to sleep. At that point he was too drained of the energy needed to think about unloading the heavy equipment. Now, a little backstory, Mateo had just moved into his spot (a presumably family friendly neighborhood) two months prior. Their parking space had a security camera and signs of neighborhood watch, so he felt safe.

On Monday, October 18th Mateo walked to his car at 10am to find someone had broken into his car and burglarized $13,000 worth of the borrowed equipment which he now has to replace out of pocket. He has received minimal help from authorities, has no insurance to cover the fees, and was informed that the security camera does not actually work. Mateo tried contacting the school associated with the project however they do not claim any liability. Mateo is a promising, ambitious and caring young individual. Right now, his focus should be on the advances in his career and starting off his adulthood. The financial blow of $13,000, in addition to Mateo’s recent moving adjustments/fees and balancing student loans, holds him back from moving forward in a crucial time of his life.

What is our goal?

Our goal is to raise $13,000 that will be used to replace the stolen camera gear and nothing else but to help Mateo with the expenses. Please help us remind Mateo there is always hope around the corner. Anything would sincerely help. We appreciate you taking the time to read and share this post.