Fundraiser to Help My Dad (Wayne Baldwin)

My name is Rachel and I'm fundraising for my Dad, Wayne. Technically, he's my stepdad but to me, he's the only parent I ever had. He came into our lives when I was 10 and my brother was 12. We had been born to a teenage mom who was damaged and struggling with her own traumatic upbringing. Our life up until that point had been the three of us, bouncing around between abusive men who terrorized us while living off our welfare. I was failing in school, fighting with my mom, and living in constant fear of the next man who would waltz into our life and make it a living hell. Then Wayne showed up.

My brother and I had developed a defense mechanism of immediately trying to scare off any guy who showed an interest in our mom and Wayne was no different. We were horrible to him. We did everything we could to make him run away. But instead of seeing us as problems that needed to be dealt with in order to get what he wanted, he saw through our behavior and fell in love with us. It still floors me to this day. He saw 2 kids in need of love and kindness and decided he was going to try to provide that for us.

After a few months, he sat my brother and me down and asked for our permission to marry our mom and become our Dad. He said that the decision was ours to make and that whatever we decided would be honored. Our lives completely changed that day.

We bought a home and never moved again. We never had to endure the shame of welfare and food stamps again. There was no more violence or fear. Though we certainly never had much in terms of money, our home was always full of jokes and laughter. For the first time, I felt loved and safe. I used to follow him around the yard on weekends while he fixed old cars and talk his ear off about anything and everything under the sun. He always listened to me and seemed interested in what I had to say and so I became a Daddy’s girl.

I can’t imagine what my life would look like today if he hadn’t decided to become my Dad. I can honestly say that he saved my life, figuratively and possibly even literally.

My Dad is 74 years old now and finds himself in the difficult and uncomfortable position of needing help. He is a proud and fiercely independent man who has always taken care of himself. He is not one to ask for anything from anyone so I am asking on his behalf.

His goal is to buy a used van that he can convert into a mobile home for himself. For the last few years, he’s been trying to set aside money but his limited income (social security and VA benefits) and a series of setbacks have made it impossible.

I’m asking for your help so my Dad can enjoy as many of the years left to him as possible with the independence that he cherishes. Anything you can contribute is very deeply appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Rachel Oman (a.k.a. Rache Cakes)