Keith Oakes

Dear Classmates and Friends:

Some of you may have seen a very touching video where a young boy assisted a wheelchair-bound man in a Price Chopper parking lot on a wet snowy night. Well the man happened to be our classmate and friend Keith Oakes, Class of ‘74, from Bethlehem Central. Keith, aka “Oakie” was a friend to many of us. Most of us have not seen nor heard from him in a very long time.

https://wnyt.com/news/boy-helps-stranger-in-wheelchair-get-home-during-snowstorm-josh-cuzdey-colonie-albany-county/5147944/ 

He has had some hard times recently, which we think require some action on our part. He was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was operated on last year, and during his recovery, he developed a blood clot in his leg which required amputation to save his life. You might remember Keith as a superb athlete who played Varsity Baseball and Basketball. He made it look easy. I recently took Keith out to breakfast, and although his current living arrangements are not the most desirable, he was upbeat and pretty nimble.

Hard times can fall upon any of us. Keith is trying to move forward with these recent setbacks, but additionally his new wheelchair was stolen. He is currently using a second hand chair that does not meet his needs. He is also currently homeless and is awaiting possible placement in a social services apartment that is wheelchair accessible. These apartments don’t grow on trees at social services reimbursement rates. I will be meeting with his caseworker very soon to see what Keith’s options are. In the meantime, let’s do something now do it quickly, but do it right. We are not looking to put Keith up in the Ritz Carlton for the rest of his life. We are looking to help him secure a proper wheelchair, and an apartment that is safe, secure and, foremost, meets his adaptive needs. Eventually, Keith will be getting a prosthetic leg that should be fully covered under his insurance, but it might not cover possible additional fitting needs.

We are proposing a “Go Fund Me” account that will be administered by myself (Jon Maskin) and fellow friends and classmates Terry Tipple and Bob Rooney. We will ensure all donations go for Keith’s welfare. Our hope is to help with rental needs that exceed Social Security benefits, and assist with his local transportation needs, and of course provide updates to wheel chair and other adaptive equipment he might need that exceeds his SSI and health insurance.

Below is the Go Fund Me information, along with the video seen locally on both channels 10 and 13 in Albany. Please pass this on to all relevant people you might feel that can help. I will provide updates on Social Media. Facebook etc. My email is [email redacted] if you have any questions. We wish you Happy Holidays! And let’s try to make Keith’s one that he will remember. We will call ourselves the “Oakes Tree”

Peace to you all. Our best, Jon, Bob and Terry