Hello,

For those of you who know me, thank you for taking the time to read this. For everyone else — my name is Willis Freeman. I’m a 31-year-old from Alberta, Canada, and this past year has flipped my life upside down.

In September, I stopped working after having a mental breakdown at work. I was still dealing with the fallout of a seven-year relationship ending — and I was still carrying the weight of how it ended.

Then in October 2025, my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

I’ve walked this road before. My father died of throat cancer years ago, and I lived with him through the slow decline that cancer brings. I know what that looks like. I know what it costs — emotionally and physically. So when my mom was diagnosed, there wasn’t really a question about what I would do.

Before she got sick, my mom was an internationally recognized service dog trainer. She traveled across North America helping veterans manage their day-to-day lives with medical service dogs. Watching her dedicate herself to work that meaningful always stayed with me.

When she was diagnosed, I moved in full-time to take care of her. She lived off-grid in a tiny home with a small hobby farm, so caregiving also meant chopping wood, hauling water, feeding animals, maintaining solar panels — the kind of work that doesn’t stop just because life gets hard. I didn’t work during that time and relied on her support as much as she did mine.

She passed at the beginning of February.

Now I’m facing what comes next. No savings. No income. A town of fewer than 500 people and limited opportunity. After funeral expenses and debts, there won’t be much left, if anything.

I could quietly reset — get a job somewhere and keep my head down.

But I don’t want this year to just be something that happened to me. I want it to be a turning point.

So I’ve decided to sell most of what I own and move into my 1998 Mazda MPV.

The plan is simple, even if it won’t be easy: travel across Canada training dogs, documenting the journey, and rebuilding from the ground up. In many ways, it feels like continuing my mother’s work in a new way.

I also plan to take on physical or seasonal work along the way to supplement income while building the dog training business. This fundraiser isn’t meant to replace work — it’s meant to give me a runway to stand on my own.

I’m hoping to raise $10,000.

Here is approximately how the funds will be used:

Vehicle & Setup

One year of insurance: $2,700

Bluetti power bank & solar setup: $1,300

New suspension and brakes: $2,500

New tires: $1,500

Basic building and camping materials: $500

The remaining funds would go toward food and fuel, giving me enough time to get the dog training company off the ground.

This isn’t about escaping life. It’s about building one deliberately. Reliable transportation, basic stability, and a small runway would give me a real chance to rebuild.

If you feel moved to support this next chapter, I’d genuinely appreciate it. And if donating isn’t possible, sharing this would mean just as much.

Thank you for reading.

— Willis