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Adopt a family for the holidays

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Dear family and friends,

Over the past two years, Alex, Aidan, Maya, Charlotte and I have become close to our friend Patty. Patty is living and working here in Chicago to support her five children- Rosi, Raquel, Ester, Moises, Lupita- and grandson- Abraham- living back at home in Guatemala. She is trained as a nurse but was unable to find a job that would allow her to provide for her family. In addition, her husband was unemployed due to an injury he suffered at work. As a result, Patty, like so many others, made the difficult decision to seek work in the US and leave her children in the care of her mother. She works seven days a week in order to cover all of their expenses (housing, utilities, food, clothing, school tuition, medical costs, etc.).

Shortly after she arrived in the US, Patty's mother passed away from cancer. Patty was unaware of the extent of her illness because her mother did not want to add to the stress she was already experiencing. Patty's grief is palpable yet she is determined to do what she needs to do to care for her children.

Patty's story serves as a microcosm for the millions of migrants forced to seek employment opportunities far away from their families. According to the Pew Research Center, the money sent to Guatemala from citizens living in the USA (also known as remittances) accounted for 10% of Guatemala's Gross Domestic Product in 2013. We know that there is a lot of work to do in order to change the structures that have created and continue to create the conditions that lead to this situation. In the mean time, what we would like to do is make sure that Patty and her children have a wonderful holiday this year despite the distance. We would like to surprise her with gifts and money to send to her family back home.

Over the next few weeks, we will be raising money to "adopt" Patty and her family for the holidays. I know it is early and many of you are probably not yet in holiday mode (Starbucks doesn't even have their holiday cups yet!) but we would like to get all of the shopping done by early November to ensure that everything arrives safely by Christmas. Mailing packages to Guatemala is notoriously slow. Aidan, Maya and Charlotte are currently planning a series of bake sales to raise money and spread the word about this project.

We would be thrilled if you would help us in this effort. The easiest way to participate is to donate through our GoFundMe Page (https://www.gofundme.com/unafamiliaunida) and then share this note with your friends and family! Any amount that you can donate would be amazing. If you would like to do some shopping yourself, we are happy to give you some ideas!

Thank-you for your time in reading this and for any support you can offer!

Warm regards,

The Klein family
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Donations 

  • Laurie Price
    • $50 
    • 7 yrs
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Organizer

Megan Rigsby Klein
Organizer
Evanston, IL

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