Help for Emily and the Kids
For those of you who don’t know Matt and Emily Burns they are some of the most amazing people you will ever meet. Their smiles and personalities light up a room. Their Love for one another, their family, and the Lord is overwhelmingly evident in their lives. Their faith in God as they walked through medical trials the past few years has been a personal challenge to me and countless others. They have always been ready to give God the glory for everything in their lives both good and difficult.
Matt worked construction and worked maintainance at camp Kanesatake a Christian youth camp in Pennsylvania. Emily is a full-time mom for their three kids.
Matt, Emily and their three kids Tyler(5yo) Clara (3yo) Amelia (1yo) were involved in a car accident on their way to Emily’s parents house for Christmas on Sunday (12/20/20) Matt lost his life in the accident and the entire family was taken to the hospital for ct scans, mris and evaluation. There have been some follow up visits and medical bills are quickly piling up.
Emily is not only faced with the loss of her husband but also many bills and financial decisions to make. As you can imagine at this point Emily, her family, and both extended families are still just beginning to process the loss of Matt. I spoke briefly with Tom (Emily’s brother) to find out how we can help and he gave me a few areas of need that the family will be faced with in the coming days.
Some of these include:
- Medical Bills
- Funeral Expenses
- An Unknown Future Housing Situation (housing was tied to Matt’s job)
- Figuring out an Income Source for the Family
There are three ways specifically we can help Emily and the Kids.
1. Pray - pray first for comfort that can only come from God and second for wisdom both for Emily and the family as they work through next steps.
2. Donate! I cant even imagine the emotional burden of loosing a spouse let alone the financial pressure that goes along with it. Galatians 6:2 calls us to Bear one another’s burdens. This is one way we can do this.
3. Share this with as many people as you can. Not only share it on social media tell your friends about it and encourage them to give! Every little bit counts!
Thank you for your kindness and generosity! It is so greatly appreciated this Christmas season.
UPDATE:
FIRST OF THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! You have all been so amazing! We started raising money 17 hours ago and are already at $74k! We are averaging $12 per share the fundraiser gets on social media so thank you for spreading the word!! Please keep sharing and inviting your friends to do the same even if they cant give.
Due to the overwhelming response to the fundraiser and the amount of times it has been shared GoFundMe has reached out and asked I clarify a few things on here for donors.
First my relationship to the family. I have known the Siegers for 21 years. They are close family friends. Emilys mom became like a second mom to me and my 5 siblings. Throughout upper elementary and teen years we were at their house all the time hanging out with Emily and her siblings.
Second a detailed explanation of how the funds will be spent. As was stated above the funds will be used to cover
- Medical Bills
- Funeral Expenses
- An Unknown Future Housing Situation (housing was tied to Matts job)
- Transition period of no income as Emily looks to figure out childcare and finding a job.
This is all still so fresh there arent solid numbers yet but as you all know medical bills and funeral costs are not cheap. Let alone working to figure out next steps for Emily and her kids and the costs associated with that. We will post updates as more information becomes available.
Third they asked how the funds will be given to Emily. I will be setting Emily up as the beneficiary and the sole person able to withdraw funds. However, if I set it up now it will send out emails to Emily for her to take steps in setting up an account. In talking with Tom (her brother) he felt it best to allow Emily to focus on the funeral and grieving process. Her family is headed to PA from WI to be with her and the funeral will be later this week. Tom will be reaching out when they are ready to begin the transferring process from GoFundMe to Emily.
Again thank you so much for your generosity! The family has been blown away by the outpouring of support! Thank you for sharing the love of Jesus with them in this way this Christmas.
