Mike and Lacey's Car Fund
Donation protected
“A friend is someone who sees the pain in your eyes when everyone else believes your smile.”
I came across this quote when searching for inspiration behind this letter. Friends have always been and will continue to be my true North when guiding my morals through life’s labyrinth. Today, my compass points me in the direction of salvation. Not that I can end my friends down turn in luck, but if I can give him and his family a step up, a hand when life has kicked them in the face repeatedly, I will alter my journey to offer a life raft.
Meet the Quilhots: Mike (father, sole provider), Lacey (Stay-at-home mother, Book Keeper for family business and tirelessly in the car for family obligations), Makayla (9, daughter, GIFTED ballet dancer, thrives off the challenges of school), Mason (6, Son…and he’s a BUSY boy, takes “older brother” more serious than a Queen’s Guard to Buckingham Palace), and Amaya and Savanna (2, twins, gifted beyond belief).
Without each AND EVERY one of the Quilhots, the rest of our community would be shorted.
From the outside, Mr. John Q. Public would think, “Wow, I want to be just like them. Hard working, family oriented, and loyalty to friends that rivals a military brotherhood”. And yes, they are ALL of that and more. The “more” is what has continued to kick their feet from under them time and time again. Without getting too personal and wanting to respect their privacy, they have dealt with family medical issues time and time again, with multiple family members (the most recent requiring multiple WEEKLY doctor’s visits), family tragedy, and a recent blow that left them without BOTH of their cars. On the morning of September 14th, Mike’s AND Lacey’s cars were BOTH stolen, in the same night.
Mike, being the sole provider for the family, requires that he travel to each of his customer’s houses, carrying ladders and such. Lacey, not only is the stay-at-home superhero, handles the books for the family business. In her “off clock” hours, she is in the car for one of MULTIPLE reasons, ALL essential to the survival of the Quilhots. Lacey is obviously running the kids to and from school. But in between and after, she is driving many miles a day to meet obligations. One of those obligations is extracurricular activities for the children who excel in MANY ways at their respective activities. Plus it allows them to escape the stresses of the day to day life that has seemed to plague the Quilhots. But probably the biggest hurdle they must clear now is how to get back and forth to multiple weekly doctor’s appointments that are VITAL to their daughter.
Well, that is where the community has come together and setup a GoFundMe account to try and bring a ray of light to the end of their tunnel. They haven’t given up yet, which is one of their greatest assets.
This family doesn’t just have skinned knees from all their falls, no they have scars. But with all of the Quilhot’s falls, they have risen every single time. This time, I intend to do what I can to lend another hand. Please help me bring recognition to their story, and not only “equip them with knee pads”, but give them the rocket propulsion they are willing to hand out to anyone else on a daily basis.
They haven’t feared the waves that crash their beach, yet have learned to surf. They need a new surf board.
Brian Kirkwood-
I came across this quote when searching for inspiration behind this letter. Friends have always been and will continue to be my true North when guiding my morals through life’s labyrinth. Today, my compass points me in the direction of salvation. Not that I can end my friends down turn in luck, but if I can give him and his family a step up, a hand when life has kicked them in the face repeatedly, I will alter my journey to offer a life raft.
Meet the Quilhots: Mike (father, sole provider), Lacey (Stay-at-home mother, Book Keeper for family business and tirelessly in the car for family obligations), Makayla (9, daughter, GIFTED ballet dancer, thrives off the challenges of school), Mason (6, Son…and he’s a BUSY boy, takes “older brother” more serious than a Queen’s Guard to Buckingham Palace), and Amaya and Savanna (2, twins, gifted beyond belief).
Without each AND EVERY one of the Quilhots, the rest of our community would be shorted.
From the outside, Mr. John Q. Public would think, “Wow, I want to be just like them. Hard working, family oriented, and loyalty to friends that rivals a military brotherhood”. And yes, they are ALL of that and more. The “more” is what has continued to kick their feet from under them time and time again. Without getting too personal and wanting to respect their privacy, they have dealt with family medical issues time and time again, with multiple family members (the most recent requiring multiple WEEKLY doctor’s visits), family tragedy, and a recent blow that left them without BOTH of their cars. On the morning of September 14th, Mike’s AND Lacey’s cars were BOTH stolen, in the same night.
Mike, being the sole provider for the family, requires that he travel to each of his customer’s houses, carrying ladders and such. Lacey, not only is the stay-at-home superhero, handles the books for the family business. In her “off clock” hours, she is in the car for one of MULTIPLE reasons, ALL essential to the survival of the Quilhots. Lacey is obviously running the kids to and from school. But in between and after, she is driving many miles a day to meet obligations. One of those obligations is extracurricular activities for the children who excel in MANY ways at their respective activities. Plus it allows them to escape the stresses of the day to day life that has seemed to plague the Quilhots. But probably the biggest hurdle they must clear now is how to get back and forth to multiple weekly doctor’s appointments that are VITAL to their daughter.
Well, that is where the community has come together and setup a GoFundMe account to try and bring a ray of light to the end of their tunnel. They haven’t given up yet, which is one of their greatest assets.
This family doesn’t just have skinned knees from all their falls, no they have scars. But with all of the Quilhot’s falls, they have risen every single time. This time, I intend to do what I can to lend another hand. Please help me bring recognition to their story, and not only “equip them with knee pads”, but give them the rocket propulsion they are willing to hand out to anyone else on a daily basis.
They haven’t feared the waves that crash their beach, yet have learned to surf. They need a new surf board.
Brian Kirkwood-
Organizer and beneficiary
Mandi Thompson Kirkwood
Organizer
Centennial, CO
Lacey Quilhot
Beneficiary
