Id like to share a story with you. Two weeks ago my father died. Our relationship has been rough. He chose other paths in life than fatherhood. I was angry for a long time, but still tried to see him when he would come around, because after all he is still my father; I don’t get another one.

He was indigent so he did not have any life insurance, money or possessions. It was left up to me to deal with him. I decided the best thing to do was cremation, so I went to several funeral homes and got prices. I did not have the money in my pocket to have this done, so I asked for payment plans, I seeked help from social security, the bank and social services but received no help, not even from family. I realized I may not be able to do this for my father and I lost hope.

My best friend, Jessica helped me through all of this and did all she could to ease my mind.  We work together and she talked to another co-worker of ours last Friday. They decided to set up a PayPal account and get donations to help me out and kept this from me for a few days.

Before the weekend was up they had raised all the money I needed to cremate my father. They had a lot of help from local businesses, Facebook and people who don’t even know me but wanted to help out for a good cause. Today I get to go see my father and have him cremated so I can keep him with me forever.

I would have never thought I would have such great friends or that there were so many good-hearted people in the world. I would like to recognize them today for their generosity and thoughtfulness. They are Jessica Baker and Anthony Hall.

Submitted by Sierra Dooley.