Donate to Melvin's Journey: From Tragedy to Triumph

Hi I am Melvin's mom and I am not too proud to beg!

10 years ago my son Melvin had dreams of attending Humboldt State University with a few other classmates he knew, so when the time came for applying he and a friend Jenny set out to visit the campus along with 2 bus loads of other students. The universe has a way of sending subtle messages and on the way heading to the school the bus Melvin was on has a little fender bender and so they were delayed leaving, and the 2nd bus carrying the other load of Seniors took off ahead of them. 10 hours into the trip as I am on my public transportation commute home from work I kept receiving a call from an unknown caller, finally I picked up the phone to hear chaos, screams and my son trying to explain to me his bus had another accident. His voice trailed off and then he's crying telling me he's scared, and he said the bus is on fire, he mentioned something about his friend still on the bus she wouldn't get up. Melvin broke a window and jumped out, he had just two weeks prior ran the Los Angeles Marathon (he's in shape). If you would like to know more about the accident here are a couple links of the conclusive investigation. https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2015/may/22/investigation-finds-fedex-driver-fault-collision-h/

https://www.cnn.com/2014/04/11/us/california-bus-crash/index.html

Sadly Melvin lost his classmate Jenny Bonia and over the years have made incredible healing progress mentally. He went on to graduate and study wildlife in-spite of the continuous trigger of driving past the accident site to visit home. Humboldt State has even dedicated a bench on campus to Melvin as well as the students who attempted to visit the campus and lost their life in the accident. So why am I telling you all of this?

Because not only has Melvin graduated and received his degree in , but he has now been accepted into the State Park's peace officer academy to officiate his role as an officer/park ranger for parks and recreation which has been his dream since his interest began to flourish in high school working with Dorsey High School's nature program that set out to restore habitats at Kenneth Hahn nature reserves as well as the Culver City overlook. Melvin has the opportunity for the next 8 months beginning so soon next month to train as an officer of the law and once graduated live his dream even more. Working in nature, protecting the land and ensuring that all is safe and well.

We need help! His uniforms needed alone total $2,700, and housing is just under 3,000 so I have a tall ask. Would you please give what you can to help us send Melvin to the academy next month. He has spent the past two years applying for this program, taking rigorous physical tests of strength and resilience swimming in oceans, running, as well as mental health interviews, written testing and he just got the call and the green light to start the process. I have hope in what I cannot see, and I am asking if you cannot give and even if you can to please pass this message along to anyone you know.

Melvin's life is a miracle in so many ways, I cannot express to you enough how proud of him I am and how much I hope time is on our side as we scramble with less than a month to get these things done. What I am asking for does not include what we need to move him out of his place this will cover simply housing for his 8 months and uniform costs.

Please help!

With love and gratitude......a very grateful and proud mother of an incredible and handsome young Black man.

Lisa Sutton