Mitchell Calvert and Family

My name is Justin Smeltzer and I am a Senior at Mcpherson College in Kansas. I have set up This Go Fund Me account to help the family of my friend and fellow student Mitchell Calvert. Mitch is also a Senior and getting ready to graduate this May with a degree in Automotive Restoration Technology. Unfortunately his entire family , (his parents, brother Wesley and  two sisters Katrina and  Emily), suffered a catastrophic tragedy last Monday March 6th. Recent wildfires burning across the state unexpectedly turned toward their property and destroyed their two story farmhouse of three years and all of their outbuildings which contained Mitch’s restoration projects and tools.


To make matters worse, his parent’s home was not insured. This past summer their home and several others in the area were severely damaged during a hailstorm. After filing their claim, the insurance company dropped them and most of the surrounding homes as well. The company paid out but the roof repair was to wait until the following summer. Until then another  company could not insure them until the roof was replaced.  The  Calverts are now starting from scratch with no financial relief in sight.

I am hoping this Go Fund Me Account will not only  reach people who may feel charitable to help the Calvert Family, but particularly to the historical automotive restoration community. In addition to every tool Mitch owned, his auto restoration projects were completely lost and/or damaged.   A 1946 DeSoto that he had bought in December for $3000 was destroyed and is a complete loss. A 1971 Triumph Spitfire  (another project) and a 1960 Checrolet Impala (a family heirloom) were also damaged and will require more work and parts to return them to their condition before the fire. 

Mitch poured his life savings into these projects. Not only is he suffering the financial loss of the projects themselves, but now he is lacking the tools to even work in his field. With graduation only two months away, Mitch's hope of restoring and selling the cars to payoff his student debt seems impossible now without the tools and the extra money everything will now require.
 
Mitch is the nicest and most helpful guy you could ever know. He helps out with everyone’s projects and  always lends a hand when needed. If you can donate to help Mitch and his family, please do so.

Here is a link to a local newspaper article about the family  from the Hutchinson Newspaper.

Hutch News Story 

If you would like to contact me to make direct donationsof money or items or tools etc. directly to the family, I can be contacted at [email redacted]


Thank You