The Kennedy Family SOS Fund

Our colleague Tia and her family have been  experiencing hardship after hardship this past year and they're in desperate need of your support. She and her husband work at the REI flagship store in Seattle where most of us have little means to give her family the financial support they urgently need right now.

In July Tia was hospitalized and diagnosed with a extreme form of postpartum depression . Just last week, after Tia had been released from inpatient care she had to unexpectedly fight imminent job termination, because REI denied her paid medical leave. Fortunately many of Tia's supporters wrote to REI's CEO, Jerry Stritzke, and her job has since been secured. It was one hellacious week for the Kennedy's to say the least.

Another setback that her family just discovered, is that Tia's paid medical leave only provides them with a small income of nearly $160 a week and has done little to help the Kennedy's get back on their feet again. Even though they only just received pay for her medical leave and have been able to access funds from this emergency gofundme campaign, they are still behind in rent and facing homelessness a second time this year.

Contributing to their current crisis is the out-of-pocket cost for her medical treatment and emergency hospitalization in July. They have no idea how they are going to make ends meet. They aren't able to afford life's basic necessities such as food or even diapers for that matter. Her littlest one, Magnolia, has been wearing hand-me-down diapers from her brother Ocean that sadly don't fit her tiny little bottom. 

Ocean is the little one that is in this photo that was taken before Tia's illness, when they were enjoying a Mariners game in 2014. We have worked with Tia for 9 years and we adore her! Just last year she received the highest honor for an employee, the Anderson Award which speaks volumes about how much she is respected and loved by REI's retail workforce. She is simply an amazing individual!

In July she courageously spoke at a Seattle Town Hall , with the hope that her contribution would help REI employees across the country. As a result of her powerful speech REI is finally beginning to address the hardships of its struggling retail workforce. It pains us to know that her family is experiencing so much hardship while she is also battling to recover from postpartum depression. This campaign has been their one saving grace.

Any donations, no matter the size, will be enormously appreciated by her family. Thank you so much for helping us return the love that she has given to all of us.

— Tia’s friends & colleagues at the REI Co-Op & REI Employees for REAL Change