Hi folks, thanks for visiting my fundraiser page. My name is Katie, and I created this fundraiser to help support my sister Liza. Liza is a single mom living with an invisible disability, and I am trying to help her buy a used car so that she can better care for herself and her son. She looks like a relatively normal mom, and in a lot of ways she is, but her nervous system and brain are permanently damaged due to extensive physical and emotional trauma that she endured throughout her life. She’s always worked tirelessly to provide the best possible life for her child, but she needs some help to continue to build stability for the both of them.

The hard part of her story:

When Liza was in high school she was groomed by a criminal who held her captive and forced her into human trafficking. She was trapped in this situation for two and a half years, only managing to escape when she was in college. These years took a serious toll, and extensive damage was done to her nervous system. It took over a decade before she was finally able to get medical attention, and since then she’s had to work really hard to make positive changes in her life.

The happy part of her story:

In the years since, she’s received a disability pension. This helps her live independently with her son part time, while she continues to work towards giving him the life he deserves. One of the best opportunities she’s been able to pursue is teaching fitness and dance classes. She gets a wonderful sense of connection and fulfillment from teaching others, and through this she feels like she’s truly found her element. She was even offered a full scholarship to take yoga teacher training through a local yoga studio: Peterborough Yoga Wellness Centre.

The obstacle:

Liza is showing a lot of promise as a yoga teacher, but one of the biggest barriers to her success right now is transit. She lives in a small town and there is a limit to how many teaching jobs she can walk to. This is particularly challenging because she suffers from chronic pain; as a 39 year old professional dancer her body takes a lot. Getting a vehicle will help Liza continue to build momentum in her life, and that is what this campaign is about.

How you can help:

With the rapid inflation and the limitations that she has, purchasing the car she needs has been out of reach. I am asking you to help with this. Any donation makes a difference. Her dream car is a Honda Civic circa 2013- a very humble dream. She needs something safe and reliable that can take her to teaching jobs and her son to his music lessons.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read our campaign. If you’re able to help in any amount, it would mean the world to us.