Join Mike in Honoring Barbara's Legacy

Dear Family and Friends. . .

First, thank-you for taking your time to read this short explanation of why you received the Go Fund Me material. The majority of you know that over the past many years that Barbara and I were married we purchased large ticket items for friends, charities, and sometimes random strangers in need. You also know that Barbara had mobility issues which caused us to purchase any number of mobility accessories to make her life easier. The latest of these purchases was a 2022 Chevrolet Traverse which we purchased in 2022 and added $55,000 in additional equipment. There was a sliding van door, underlit ramp, extensive suspension to help the vehicle “kneel”, and a passenger front seat that was able to move back to her electric cart so she could transfer easily.

Now, that being said, the majority of you as well as the new folks reading this should know that Barbara passed away this past February 4th (2024). She fought and lost her 6th battle with Covid. She was also a four time survivor of cancer. She and I had some very serious conversations about her condition and at one point she told me that she didn’t think she was going to make it out of the hospital. She then told me who gets what and suggestions on how to carry on with my life. Her wish for the car was for me to get it paid off and give it to friends of ours up north who have a son who has multiple disabilities and is very developmentally delayed.

So that brings me to the last part of this note. The father of this young man has been one of my lifelong friends. He and his beautiful wife gave birth to twins in 1987. Their daughter is a beautiful young lady and a joy to her parents. Their son is a handsome young man who is confined to either a hospital bed or a wheelchair due to his physical and mental conditions. He suffers from Cerebral Palsy as did Barbara. Now, his parents own a specially equipped van which they used to transport him. However, it is falling into disrepair due to age and severe winter weather.

Therefore, this Go Fund Me account will specifically target the $75,000 loan still outstanding on this vehicle. Once paid off, I’ll drive the Traverse to their home in Pennsylvania and transfer title, keys, and caring to my friends. I can’t wait!! Every donation will be greatly appreciated.

For a video of the vehicle I’d like to donate, cut and paste the following link that shows the special equipment installed in the Traverse:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18mlG7yP3hOM3nj-djLMAhxt08T31TBCs/view?usp=drive_link

Ruby the Tank is a great vehicle and one that will be remembered as making Barbara’s life much easier even if it was only for about 18 months.

Thank-you for taking the time to review this material and I look forward to delivering this vehicle to my friends in Pennsylvania. I’d appreciate it very much if you’d forward the Go Fund Me to your social media contacts as well as anyone you feel would be interested in assisting this family. Many, many thanks!!

Sincerely yours,

Mike Schmidt

Vero Beach, Florida