Support Dee Dee's Mission for Special Needs Kids

Hi there. My name's Danny (he/him). You may know me already, or this may be our first "meeting." In any case: Thank you for being here and reading this.

This fundraiser is about someone I deeply care about, and who needs our help.

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs. My mom and dad still live there, and so does an incredibly special person: Denise, or as me and some other folks call her, Dee Dee.

Dee Dee helped raised my sister and me when both our parents worked full time. She was a friend of my mom's from work; but is and always has been family. I consider her my second mom, and she's been this type of person for many others, including her nieces and nephews. -- She babysat my sister and me innumerable times (usually for free); took us to the movies, amusement parks, local fairs, restaurants, and even New York City once; helped us with our homework; drove us to appointments; and always made sure we knew that we were very loved (so did our parents, we were quite spoiled that way).

She still drives me to and from the airport almost every time I fly back to Illinois, and tries to tell me not to pay. (I still pay.)

Earlier in 2024, Dee Dee took over management and payroll of a fleet of taxis, under her company J & A Transportation LLC. (This is an active, registered entity on the Illinois Secretary of State's Business Entity Search website.)

J & A drivers transport special needs and displaced students, grades pre K-12, to and from school. Drivers are all school bus certified which means they all go through the same testing and training as school bus drivers, but work in regular cars. Some examples of J & A's clients are families with children who are students that have autism, emotional disabilities, and/or mental heath issues.

During the transition to J & A management and payroll, drivers had to work without payment for a month. Dee Dee has had to cover many costs and payroll expenses herself since taking over ownership and management.

In addition to J & A, Dee Dee takes care of bills and expenses for her mom, for one of her friends who has extensive and complicated medical needs, and for herself.

Dee Dee needs our help. Any amount of generosity will help Dee Dee and the hundreds of people (students, families, persons with disabilities and/or mental health issues) she helps each day.

The needed amount is about $40,000 (I am planning to conduct this fundraiser in two parts between 2024 and 2025). The fundraising goals reflect transaction fee costs as well.

I will be overseeing the fundraising effort directly, please reach out to me if you have any questions.

Thank you so much for reading this, and for any consideration given to help an incredible (queer) woman and member of my family.

Much love,

Danny Hankes