Support a Dad to Get Back on His Feet

Jerrell McGirt is the most compassionate, driven, and hardworking person I've ever met. Since I met him he is always diligently putting in the hours at the job to provide for his daughter, spend time with his daughter, and work towards starting his business. Despite the kicks and turns that life would throw at him, he would always keep a positive outlook and find a way to overcome those challenges while keeping his struggles to himself. The following is just a glace of his story…

When Jerrell had just finished a stint on active duty as an Air Force Reservist, he enrolled in school to become a filmmaker. But of course, that was not enough for him, and he doubled majored in political science thinking he'd be a philanthropist in his free time from being a successful filmmaker. During undergrad, he lost his best friend, his very close cousin, and his older brother, two of which he lost to gun violence. During this time, instead of reenlisting, he was forced to become a civilian to be able to focus on his well-being due to health issues. He worked full-time jobs as a full-time student and was actively involved in his sisters' lives academically and socially, mentored young adults, and led a diverse art collective. He did all this while maintaining a 3.4 until things took a turn for the worse during his senior year. Despite health issues and grief, compounding with every day’s woes of being an independent young adult, Jerrell never deterred from school, excelling in most subjects. The catalyst was his loss of transportation to school during his last semester of undergrad. He's been on a mission to finish what he started but life took him down a different path. He was blessed with a beautiful baby girl which prompted him to make a hasty but responsible career decision. He took a job as a cook in a kitchen a friend managed and he has been in the culinary world since, becoming a chef 3 years in and starting his own business 5 years later. He is a full-time father so much so the first 3 years of his daughter’s life he would work 60 weekends and he would literally work 24 hrs. a day to make sure he was home with her Monday - Thursdays and she’d be with her mother and his family on weekends. Jerrell is a wonderful father and has always been a strong presence in his daughter’s life.

Jerrell is one of the strongest people I’ve known, despite the negativities that keep coming at him, he does not give in and keeps ongoing. Unfortunately, he recently broke his foot in multiple places while being on daddy duty and had to go through surgery in order to heal properly. This is not something that can be quickly fixed, ignored, or put on pause to just keep on working. Life does not stop for him, he still has responsibilities, bills to pay, and most importantly, he still needs to provide for his daughter. Although he is on bed rest, he still has been looking for at-home job opportunities without any luck yet. Thus, I'm creating this GoFundMe because I know he recently put his all into starting his business and has no financial options for the next few months. Even though he is always willing to help others, he is not good at asking for help when he needs it, and I know he hasn't asked anyone. As his friend, I am asking for your support on his behalf. If you made it this far into this long post please feel free to contribute to this cause, anything will be greatly appreciated! All your contributions will be used to cover medical expenses and to endure the next couple of months while he heals. We are so thankful for your support!