
Travis Howard Memorial Fund
Donation protected
My name is Robin Saint James and Travis was my son. This Christmas will be the Third anniversary of the last time I spoke to my son. We had the most wonderful Christmas and no one could see what happened coming. He succumbed to his injuries on New Year's Day. God blessed me with one week, while he was in a coma, to feel his warm hands, and it allowed his brother and I to say our goodbyes. He was only 21.
Each year since, I have asked a third party to host a fundraiser for Travis' fund to keep his memory alive. This year, Pastor Teri Lynn Stackhouse has graciously accepted that responsibility. I met Pastor Teri when I attended group grief counseling that she held. It was during the first Christmas season following my son's passing.
I do these fundraisers through a third party so that there is never any question about where the funds we raise go. Not one single penny is ever taken by anyone but the recipients of Travis' gifts.
Travis was the perfect son. He was so loving and giving to everyone he knew. He was also my best friend. We shared all of our experiences together and he was the glue that held my life together.
He was an incredibly talented guitar player, who wrote the "go to" handbook for the world renowned band called "Tool." But that wasn't his only accomplishment.
Travis suffered through years of doctor and hospital visits and we were led to believe he had a heart condition. And through all of that, his love for Jesus Christ caused him to believe that his experience allowed him to have empathy for others and to truly know what Jesus' love really means. He never complained about his condition, and one day, when he completely turned his life over to Christ, he weaned himself off of all of the medications he had been bombarded with and put his life in God's hands, where it is now.
When Travis went to Jesus, I got messages from all over the country from people who told me what Travis did for them. He talked many people out of suicide, or walked them back from a traumatic experiences.
Travis is truly an angel. And it it my job as his mother to continue his legacy of love by giving to others in his name.
Travis was an organ donor. There are many, many people who have a second chance at life because of my boy. His kidneys, his, lungs, and yes, even his heart, have given life to folks who had lost hope. That fact that it wasn't his heart that gave him years of suffering, matters not. He gave it all.
The money received for the Travis Fund goes to people, children, or animals, who are desperately in need. And some day, I hope to use some of those funds to help angel mom's with the unbearable loss of a child. Perhaps they don't have the money for a burial. Maybe they are so distraught that they can't pay their bills. I have been in their shoes.
I am asking for donations to continue the fellowship that Travis started. No matter how small the amount, even one dollar, you can be assured that your donation will go directly to someone who is not as fortunate as we are. And when I say I am fortunate, I mean that I got to have Travis in my life for 21 years. That's a gift. And all I want to do is pay it forward in his name.
Thank you for blessing others in his name!
Robin
Organizer

Teri Lynn Stackhouse
Organizer
Cincinnati, OH