Support Michael in His Time of Loss

My name is Jay, and I am starting a fundraiser initiative for my employee, Michael Angelo Gonzales, who had recently encountered a series of unfortunate events that have placed him into a position of needing additional financial assistance, which includes both his mother-in-law's passing and his father's passing that have happened within the last few months.

Michael was originally from the Philippines and immigrated to the United States roughly 30 years ago. He currently resides in Saint Louis, MO, with his husband, Scott, whom he has been married to for 14 years.

Michael's mother-in-law, Roberta, had end stage kidney disease, and Michael had graciously carried the task of caring for her for the past 2 years before her passing. During those 2 years, some of what Michael did contained cooking, making meals 3 times a day, cleaning her apartment once a week, and many other chores and errands that one can think of that are involved with taking care of a sick person. Michael recalls that every time Roberta would feel well enough to go out, she would tell Michael: "Let's go get something to eat!" Then Michael would drive her to stop by some of her favorite restaurants and order whatever she wanted, and she would pay for it as her way of thanking Michael for his care. Unfortunately, she had passed away on April 16, 2024.

As Michael, who currently resides in the United States, provided his mother-in-law with in-person house chores assistance, he has also been providing his family in the Philippines, his father included, with financial assistance. The last time he had seen his father, Ernesto, was when he had returned to the Philippines to visit right before COVID became rampant. Some of the positive memories that Michael could recall included: "I took my father to different beaches and restaurants. He loves to be driven around, with the windows down and just enjoy the fresh air and the long drive." On May 13, 2024, less than a month after Roberta's passing, Ernesto had unfortunately passed away as well.

Overwhelmed already by the financial burden caused by Roberta's passing, Michael has been facing the precarious situation of shouldering the financial burden of Ernesto's passing as well, including ensuring costs are met for both funerals. He had contemplated and hesitated many times before deciding that it would be time to reach out to the greater community for assistance, and eventually decided to embrace his vulnerability and initiate this campaign. Both Michael and I hope that, by reading his stories above, that you will be able to offer some help to relieve his worries. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Thank you!