Spread the Light

HI, I’m Fred. Some of you know me by my chosen nickname Brandon and you can read that story another time! I’m a parent, a Lyft driver, and I’m hoping to share a story that will inspire you to help me in a time of need. If you aren’t reading this from the link on my fredslyft Instagram story, please go check me out @fredslyft. You can also find me on facebook as Brandon Schneider (and find the short story I wrote explaining my nickname) If you know me personally, or if I’ve given you a Lyft and I’ve had an impact on you in any way, please take the time to read my story. My entire life I’ve sought to give to those around me and spread light and love the best I knew how. As an adult I’ve been able to do that in many ways. I was married in 1999 and had a job working with kids on ankle monitor doing family counseling and goal setting to help the kids get back on track. My wife was a special ed teacher working with kids with autism. After 2 years of that we both quit our jobs and became foster parents for the kids the system didn’t want. I worked for FedEx for the benefits and in 2005 we moved to Durango and I managed the FedEx station there for 8 years.

In 2011 we lost a child to a sudden illness. It was a tragic and life changing experience. I struggled with how to keep moving. We didn’t stop as foster parents and while I feel like I found healing and a path forward, my ex and I focused only on the kids and our relationship took the hit. By 2015 we had adopted 7 kids that had no homes to return to and had one of our own but our relationship was damaged. After FedEx I became the executive director of a non-profit supervising Head Start, federally funded preschool for low income families, and I had great success in that position. My success at work drove me to try to address my failing marriage. It didn’t work and we ended up divorced.

I started working part time for Lyft and got a new job here in Denver supervising before and after school programs at 20 different schools and spent weekends traveling back and forth to see my kids. I left that job over differences on how to handle the low-income families and have been a Full time Lyft driver since. It’s been a struggle since my two oldest boys moved in this school year. One of them is on probation for assaulting my ex and the other wanted to be here with him. Expenses are higher, my car was stolen, and I’ve been using the Lyft rental program for the past month. I’ve been taking a lot of time off to support my struggling boy who ran away, and is in detention for violating probation. I’m at a breaking point. The past 3 months have been super close but with a few friends help I’ve made it. I am currently experiencing an unexpected emergency and I can no longer drive for Lyft until its resolved.

I am more than willing to share the details with you individually, but the point of this story is to let you know who is doing the asking. I am asking you to help someone who has spent years helping others and is struggling to make that happen. This is a season of giving and generosity and I’m hoping that you send some of the light, love, and inspiration that I’ve given to you and others and send some back my way in this time of need. If you can help, please do so quickly as this emergency needs to be resolved this coming week. If you’d rather help me outside of this platform to avoid fee’s and maximize the impact of your help, contact me at [email redacted] or [phone redacted]. Also, please use my contact info to ask for details of the emergency if that is the deciding factor for you. My goal is to continue supporting my kids, spreading my light and love to every child, Lyft passenger, and friend that I find on my journey. You can help keep that light spreading.