Dear Friends and Family,

I am requesting support on behalf of my wonderful colleague and friend, Feli Mercado. For those of you that are blessed to know Feli, you know what a loving ray of sunshine she is. Feli and I first met, when we co-taught Parent Education classes at our beloved Crossroads High School for Teen moms. Feli has worked tirelessly to help the students of Crossroads. She currently works with families as translator, takes students and their babies to school and often picks up and drives students and their babies to misc. appoinments. Feli regularly meets with, and checks in with students to make sure their families have everything they need. Additionally, Feli has works as a counselor with C.O.P.E a Family Support Center of Contra Costa County which is a wonderful community resource which offers counseling options, parent education, and youth services. Feli spends her life giving and helping others and now she is need of some help herself.

A few weeks ago Feli learned that she had a very aggressive breast cancer. On Monday, Feb. 10 I picked up Feli at 6:30 am and dropped her off at Kaiser for a mastectomy. Feli shooed me away and confidently walked into the hospital alone. She is an amazing, confident, self-reliant woman, but now she needs some support. Feli remains as positive as ever! Unfortunately she has not accrued enough sick time to fully cover her expenses and we are not sure how much, if any disability funding for which she will qualify as she is an independent contractor with our school district. We want Feli to focus solely on wellness and healing during this challenging time. She is eager to heal quickly and get back to work so she may continue to help others.

Please consider making a donation to this fund so we can let Feli know how much we care!