Thanking Mr. Coffey

***THIS IS A SURPRISE FOR MR. COFFEY -- PLEASE DON'T SHARE WITH HIM***

UPDATE #2: We've hit our updated goal! Thank you again to everyone who's donated, shared a memory, and helped spread the word. I'm going to keep donations open, since I know there are still people who want to get involved and show their love and appreciation for Mr. Coffey.

Please also continue sharing life updates and memories! The link is here: https://forms.gle/gkkRyQUS2iTcpuBH6

UPDATE: Wow -- we raised the $10,000 in one week. Thank you so much to everyone who's given, and to everyone who's shared a note for the memory book. We know there are still people who want to get involved -- even now it feels like we've barely scratched the surface of the love and gratitude that Mr. Coffey inspires in his students. Any money raised from here on will go towards modifications for the Coffey’s home to help with his mobility – railings, ramps, and other renovations that make life with MS easier.

Please also continue sharing life updates and memories! The link is here: https://forms.gle/gkkRyQUS2iTcpuBH6

TLDR: Mr. Coffey was a great teacher, he has MS, we want to honor him with a trip. Please donate and share a memory with him! The Google form for sharing an update/story is here: https://forms.gle/gkkRyQUS2iTcpuBH6

Hi friends,

 

My name is Alex Palmer, and I’m a 2008 Brookfield East alum, and a former student of Patrick Coffey’s. If you’re reading this, it’s because, like me, you were a student of Mr. Coffey’s: you know what an incredible teacher he is, and the tremendous impact he’s had on so many lives – maybe including your own.

 

A few years ago, Mr. Coffey was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The disease has made mobility more difficult, but it hasn’t stopped him from teaching with the same energy and enthusiasm he always has. He continues to inspire students today, twenty-seven years into his career at East.

 

Together with my sisters, Kelsey Brenn (Palmer) and Claire Sporrer (Palmer), I’m raising money to send Mr. Coffey and his family on the kind of adventure he used to describe in class. I’ve spoken with Mr. Coffey’s wife, and she said that he’s always wanted to go to New Orleans – a city filled with history, culture, literature, food and music. Mr. Coffey’s first love was American history, and New Orleans will be a perfect fit.

 

Our goal is to raise $10,000 to cover every part of the trip for Mr. Coffey, his wife, and their two daughters. We want to involve as many of Mr. Coffey’s former students as possible, to show him just how many lives he’s changed. Any money we raise above our goal will go towards modifications for the Coffey’s home to help with his mobility – railings, ramps, and other renovations that make life with MS easier.

 

Alongside donations, we’re also asking former students to share a bit about where they are now and their favorite memories of Mr. Coffey, to compile into a book for him. They can be short, long, funny, serious, or anything else – whatever you want him to know and however you want to thank him. The link to share those is here.

 

Lastly, we’re keeping all of this secret from Mr. Coffey, so that the trip, the memory book and the renovations are a surprise. Please help us reach as many of his former students as possible, but don’t mention it to him or post about it publicly if you’re connected with Mr. Coffey on social media.

 

Thank you for reading this, and for helping out however you can. The way I see it, if every student who’s been inspired by Mr. Coffey chips in $50, we’ll be able to send him and his family on a life-changing trip many times over.

 

If you have any questions, please reach out. And thank you again!

 

My best,

Alex Palmer