<div>“The Marathon Continues”
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>People always ask how I got into making jewelry. I usually say, “It’s a long story,” but I’ve got nothing but time now. I used to live a different kind of life. How different? That’s not important—this isn’t a Jay-Z album. What matters is, I got arrested.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>When that happened, my father, a great man, told me he didn’t need or want the bail money back. Instead, he said something I’ll never forget: “All I need is for you to find something that makes you happy and that you can be proud of.”
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>So, I went back to school. Turns out, they offered metalsmithing. I figured, why not try it? When I was a kid, my mom took me and my brother to Ensenada, where we watched joyeros making and selling silver chains. That memory stuck with me.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>By 2019, I was falling in love with something that finally felt real. Sure, it’s a good feeling to make something beautiful. But for me, the real high was seeing someone’s face light up when they saw my work. Nothing else compares.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>But life has a way of testing you. As I was just starting to see the silhouette of a new life, COVID hit, and school shut down. Metalsmithing set me on a path of figuring out what I wanted to do, but the world felt like it might never reopen.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>With no other choice, I poured everything I had left from my old life into building my new one. Less than a year into my obsession with metalwork, I was building my studio. I loved what I was doing and wasn’t about to give it up. I kept teaching myself techniques my school never would’ve taught me.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>When things reopened, I went back to school—not because I needed it, but to see my teachers again and be around others. It only confirmed that I’d already found my direction. Some artists take a lifetime to discover their path, but I finally saw the shape of my vision, and I felt lucky.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>For those who follow me, you know I’ve been remodeling my studio lately. Then, a few nights ago, a fire tore through our community, destroying almost everything. We lost beloved community members, my parents’ multi-generational home, and the studio that took me five years to build.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In these last few days, I’ve had time to come to terms with the loss. Many people plan to leave, but for me, this is bigger than losing a house—this is about home.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I feel selfish asking for help when so many here are hurting. But if you’re able to donate or share this, it would mean the world. <strong>My goal is to raise enough to help my mom and dad get back on their feet after the fire .</strong> To everyone who’s supported me, bought my art, or shared in this journey—thank you. If I got to make people smile, and make my parents proud of what I’ve created with my own hands, even once, I’m truly rich. And I’m deeply grateful.
</div>

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English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

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Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

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Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

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checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

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fallback mode accounts

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p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

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UKCharities

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route.pathname community

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braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

Support Comments Allowlist

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

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Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

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Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

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shared notification bell audience

Custom users

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Android v11.0.0 and above

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Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

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Native 11.4.0 and above

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ai_title_page

anyword

openai

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Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

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Survicate

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Non-charity fund

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challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

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iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

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