<div><br />

</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/106554597_1785457318575250_r.jpg" width="100%" />

<div>This is one of the hardest things I ever written, and I've been writing health blogs every week for more than 30 years.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>A few days ago, my precious 33-year-old son, Michael, was taken from me in a senseless act of violence. Michael was the founder of Mindful Movers, a professional moving company based in central Florida.He has nothing but 5 star reviews. 
</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>What you may not know is that the last thing he was trying to do was help someone else. He had stopped at a Home Depot in Apopka to buy a special part so he could repair a bench that had been accidentally damaged during a move. Instead of blaming his employee, hiding it from the customer like other movers might do, he just wanted to make it right for his customer, so he left the job site and drove down Orange Blossom Trail to go to Home Depot to get a special screw or part.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>He never made it in. While he was in the parking lot, someone shot him. It's been on the local news, though I still cannot bring myself to watch the videos. I haven't even seen the person responsible, but I hope there will be justice.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div><strong>Our life changed forever in an instant</strong>. There are simply no words for the heartbreak I am experiencing. The shock. The brutality. The senselessness of it all.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>Ever since the trauma surgeon called to tell me my son had died, every moment has been a blur, a nightmare. People say that with time you somehow move forward, but right now I'm simply trying to survive one moment at a time. I am shattered.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>Children are everything to a parent. Michael was my son, my sweet little baby boy who grew up to become a remarkable man with incredible strength and an enormous heart.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>He was a problem solver, a caretaker, and someone who quietly helped people without expecting anything in return.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>He hired people for his company who were down on their luck and simply needed someone to believe in them.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>He bought strangers dinner. He was funny. He occasionally surprised his crew with fun outings because he wanted them to feel appreciated.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>If you casually mentioned something you needed, it often showed up because Michael had quietly noted your desire.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>Like me, he wanted to make people's lives better—one home -one move- one act of kindness at a time. His hundreds of five-star Google reviews tell the story of who he truly was. Moving people wasn't just a job to him—it was his joy. He helped people through some of life's most stressful moments, and if someone needed him, he was there.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>When I went to clean out his home, which was a horrific task, his neighbors whom I had never met came over.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>We stood together in the driveway crying as they shared stories about my son. They loved him. In that moment, I realized his kindness had reached far beyond our family, and hearing those stories reminded me that Michael's life touched so many more people than I ever knew.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>Michael leaves behind his sisters, and also beloved one-year-old daughter, Colette. Her mother, Emily, is now raising her alone while also living with lasting physical limitations from a bicycle accident several years ago. Together they were building a life, but now she and Colette are facing an unimaginable future without him.

</div>

<div><br />

</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/106554597_178545969284469_r.jpg" width="100%" />

<div><br />

</div>

<div>I created this GoFundMe to help provide stability, security, and opportunities for Colette as she grows up. Emily is now grieving the loss of the man she loved while raising their little girl on her own. We are all shocked and grief-stricken. Every dollar raised will help build the future Michael would have wanted for Colette. 

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>If you're unable to donate, sharing this fundraiser and keeping our family in your thoughts or prayers would mean the world.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>If you'd simply like to leave a message for Colette to read someday, I would treasure that.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>My hope is that one day she'll come to know more about her dad through the love and kindness of others.

</div>

<div><br />

</div>

<div>From the bottom of my heart, thank you for every prayer, every hug, every message, and every act of kindness shown to our family during these unimaginably difficult days. With love, ❤️ Suzy

</div>

Anonymous

Barbara Nault

Sharron Washam

Julie and Jamie lindstrom

Megan Cole

Elizabeth Smith

Wesley Rendel

Mariarosaria Malham

Mary Cook Burzic

Sean Afriat

Wayde Alfarone

Cindy Turner

Elizabeth Gamberino

Rachel Cohen

Mary Carstenn

Honor Michael's Legacy. Help Build Colette's Future.

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Eligible for Profile Comment Badge

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

isEligibleForProfileCommentBadge

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Just $795$ to go! Make an impact.

Honor Michael's Legacy. Help Build Colette's Future.

Just $795 to go!
Make an impact.