Help Milly and baby Olive replace their stolen car

Hi my name is Mary Hartnett and I am fundraising for our dear friend and neighbors Milly and Olive.

Milly is one of the most remarkable and selfless people I know. They and their niece/daughter Olive need our help. Yesterday as Milly was dropping Olive off for daycare in Uptown their car and cell phone were stolen. We are so grateful that they weren’t hurt during the theft. But we need $7000 to help get a new used car, a replacement toddler car seat and stroller and a small set aside for inevitable older car repairs. I’ve been able to raise $2500 offline so we are looking for an additional $4500. I raised the amount to included the state’s 6.875% car sales tax and 2.9% charge from GoFundMe.

Milly was raised in foster care, made it out and was working toward a college degree in Youth Studies when Milly learned their sister who is an addict had given birth to a little girl. Child protective services told Milly that they were going to put the baby in foster care. with strangers unless Milly became Oli’s foster mom. CPS gave Milly 24 hours to decide. Milly left, bought a car seat, diapers and formula, and returned that day to bring Olive home. She told me she cried for 3 days because it was so unexpected and she didn’t know what she was doing.

At 22 Milly became a mom and tried to juggle school, work and raising a baby, but dropped out of school with one year left to go. They work full time working with kids in foster care in a St. Paul suburb. Milly has become the best mom. Olive is thriving.

Joe and I and other friends of hers watch Olive on the weekends that Milly is scheduled to work and no day care is available. There’s no wiggle room in their budget for a new used car or a replacement car seat and stroller that were in the trunk. According to the Minnesota Public Finance Agency they earn a “very low income.” Insurance doesn’t cover replacement for anything except the phone.

Milly makes everyone want to be a better person. The courts have approved her petition to adopt and we are all waiting for the big day. At 22 to take all of this on was remarkable and at 24 she’s a stellar human. And Olive is a hoot. Milly deferred their dream of college to be the best mom they can be to Olive. We hope to buy a used car and raise enough money to replace the car seat and stroller and for inevitable car repairs. Let’s lift Milly and Olive up. When we do, we all rise. My sister has generously lowered the cost of the car she was selling. Please give whatever you can.