On August 4th, Mike Jefferson died suddenly, leaving his 2 daughters, Ashlynn & Leaf, to pick up the pieces of a shattered family. He was a loving father, a fierce friend, and an incredibly hard worker…but he lived in the moment, not planning for a tragedy like this.

He had no life insurance, no retirement savings; instead investing all his time & money into the company he was so proud to own…the company that bears his girls’ names - AshLeaf Landscaping. Everything Mike did was in the hopes of building something that his daughters would be proud of. Something that would allow him to care for them for years to come.

Mike never asked anyone for anything. He preferred to tackle challenges on his own, stoically; a trait he instilled in his girls. Those amazing young women didn’t even want me to set up this account…but if you knew Mike, I’m sure you know just how many people have been waiting for an opportunity to show their love and support for his family since learning of his tragic passing.

It’s that outpouring of grief and love and support that I’m hoping to channel. Mike’s final arrangements have been taken care of. His remains honored, a memorial service scheduled…but people continue to reach out, asking where they can donate or how they can help.

So for those of you who, like me, want to send Mike off to Heaven the way he’d want us to - with a celebration of his life and of the love we all shared for him - and come together to care for Ash & Leaf as much as we can…a centralized conduit for us all to do that seemed to make the most sense.