Helping the Harton Family through a tough loss

Hi, my name is Josh and my family and I have set up this GoFundMe to help our beautiful friends through a very tough time. Last year, our friends Cheryl and Mike lost their son Jacob tragically and unexpectedly, on his 15th birthday. They found out later that he had suffered from Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS).

It has been an extremely tough year for their family as Jacob was their world. They did everything together. Jacob loved cars, building things outside with his dad, playing sports, and giving his parents the biggest hug as often as possible. Jacob was an amazing kid with so much light and love. He was also best friends with my nephews and neice, so his loss has and continues to have a huge impact on my family.

Upon coming back to Vermont from Los Angeles in April, I have really got a chance to get to know Cheryl and Mike up close. They are two of the strongest, sweetest, most loving and caring people I have ever met in my life. They have endured so much and one of the hardest moments to watch was Cheryl on her first Mother's Day without Jacob. Through their pain, they remain as strong as possible and try to make the most of their lives the best they can and even smile through the harder days.

These two truly deserve the world so my family and I wanted to create this to raise money as Jacob's 1st birthday since his passing is coming up on July 11th. We'd love to surprise them on Jacob's birthday with money that can be used towards starting a scholarship in Jacob's name, something they have been inspired to do, as well as holding other events in his honor.

I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through but for them to show up every day with such light and love, has truly had a profound impact on me and my family. Their strength is unmatched and I am honored to call them my friends. I know July 11th is going to be one of the hardest days of their lives and we just want to bring them a bit of joy and a smile on whats going to be an extremely difficult day. Thank you so much for taking the time and anything helps to get us to our goal. It means the world.

See HERE video about Jacob