Caring about Karen & Maddie

Thank you for being here. It's hard in one brief story on go Fund-Me, to reach out to family, friends, and even strangers right now to say

"Please, I know I can make it. I need help."

It's hard because the pandemic affected all of us. We each have our choices. But it doesn't mean we should lose our humanity. It means we should try to help as we go.

This is at the request of family members for Karen Novotny. The oldest of the Novotny grandchildren and the daughter of Toni and Sandi Novotny. It's a family with history and heritage and lots of shared lessons over time about how to live and cope and survive in life. Karen’s event planning business went under due to COVID. Since then, she’s been driving for Lyft. Her kindhearted amazing daughter, Maddie, who is a straight "A" student and looking forward to Prom, had been injured playing soccer and needed expensive surgeries due to those injuries. It has been a lot, and like many, they keep going and hope there is not another "setback event".

Karen wants to thank her family for their help during this difficult time. She knows that they're there and it's not easy. Karen's car was recently stolen, a necessity for her current livelihood, and things got bleak. She is currently houseless and we ask for all the help you can give, and to ask those you may know to also donate.

Monies will go towards getting her a decent car, assisting with expenses simply surviving, paying outstanding bills and getting basic housing.

But this request does not ignore a fact that is vital - The world has changed and it's now officially "Ok" to say we need help to sort through all of this emotionally - a couple of family meetings - for the long-term - we need to sit with one another and work through this... it's been tough on everybody. There is not a family out there that has not struggled. We acknowledge that.

This is smart fundraising for a family that needs it. Thanks for reading, and thanks even more for realizing it's not easy to ask.