Support for the children of Irene Garzon Reyes
Donation protected
I never imagined I would be setting up a GoFundMe account. I never really thought about the "what if" aspect of an employee dying.
Irene came into our lives and hearts 2 years ago. She was the hardest working woman I ever met. Irene was so proud of her 18 year old twins, Laura and Oscar. Laura is graduating with honors from North Atlanta High School next month and has already been accepted to UGA, Georgia Tech and Oglethorpe University. Oscar graduated early from North Atlanta also with honors and has been accepted to Georgia State University.
Irene worked so hard to provide for her children and now they are not sure where the money will come from to pay for college let alone their immediate living expenses.
Irene was a woman who valued faith, family and friendship. She was very worried she wouldn’t see her aging father and aunt again and she made a trip to Colombia to see them. While she was visiting them there, all 3 of them contracted Covid. While Irene was in the ICU on a ventilator, both her father and aunt died.
Irene passed away yesterday morning. Our salon team is devastated, and we have all agreed that the best way to honor our friend and to support her children is to start this Go Fund Me. I have been in close contact with the family and I will make sure all proceeds are managed responsibly. Once immediate living needs are reached, we will start a 529 College Fund for both children.
Thank you for your support, my hope is that giving her children some financial support will help them heal without worrying about how they will be taken care of.
**update** We are so thankful for all of your generosity. As Irene's employer and friend I have been working closely with her nephew Andres Jimenez. Her children Laura Forero and Oscar Forero live in Andres' home and he is very responsible adult with a strong sense of family and responsibility. I have made calls to Oglethorpe Univerisity to see about more financial aid and they are seeking support for grieving children from The Link.
The funds we have raised will first be going to Irene's children's immediate living expenses as Irene was the primary provider. Then the funds will be used to help offset the cost of college. Laura is going to Oglethorpe and Oscar is navigating his next steps and considering going into the military. Our goal is to ease their financial burden so they can heal and not rush into any major life decisions.
Since I was the one who started this fundraiser but I am not the beneficiary, I have named Andres Jimenez as the beneficiary for the children. He has opened up an account with Laura and the children understand that these funds are specifically for their education.
You may have noticed that our team and myself did not donate through Go Fund Me, but I can assure you that we have written checks and collected cash donations and I personally wrote a check for $1,800.
Thank you for being kind and generous and trusting me to handle this as a professional mamma bear!
Irene came into our lives and hearts 2 years ago. She was the hardest working woman I ever met. Irene was so proud of her 18 year old twins, Laura and Oscar. Laura is graduating with honors from North Atlanta High School next month and has already been accepted to UGA, Georgia Tech and Oglethorpe University. Oscar graduated early from North Atlanta also with honors and has been accepted to Georgia State University.
Irene worked so hard to provide for her children and now they are not sure where the money will come from to pay for college let alone their immediate living expenses.
Irene was a woman who valued faith, family and friendship. She was very worried she wouldn’t see her aging father and aunt again and she made a trip to Colombia to see them. While she was visiting them there, all 3 of them contracted Covid. While Irene was in the ICU on a ventilator, both her father and aunt died.
Irene passed away yesterday morning. Our salon team is devastated, and we have all agreed that the best way to honor our friend and to support her children is to start this Go Fund Me. I have been in close contact with the family and I will make sure all proceeds are managed responsibly. Once immediate living needs are reached, we will start a 529 College Fund for both children.
Thank you for your support, my hope is that giving her children some financial support will help them heal without worrying about how they will be taken care of.
**update** We are so thankful for all of your generosity. As Irene's employer and friend I have been working closely with her nephew Andres Jimenez. Her children Laura Forero and Oscar Forero live in Andres' home and he is very responsible adult with a strong sense of family and responsibility. I have made calls to Oglethorpe Univerisity to see about more financial aid and they are seeking support for grieving children from The Link.
The funds we have raised will first be going to Irene's children's immediate living expenses as Irene was the primary provider. Then the funds will be used to help offset the cost of college. Laura is going to Oglethorpe and Oscar is navigating his next steps and considering going into the military. Our goal is to ease their financial burden so they can heal and not rush into any major life decisions.
Since I was the one who started this fundraiser but I am not the beneficiary, I have named Andres Jimenez as the beneficiary for the children. He has opened up an account with Laura and the children understand that these funds are specifically for their education.
You may have noticed that our team and myself did not donate through Go Fund Me, but I can assure you that we have written checks and collected cash donations and I personally wrote a check for $1,800.
Thank you for being kind and generous and trusting me to handle this as a professional mamma bear!
Organizer and beneficiary
Andrea Goldklang
Organizer
Atlanta, GA
ANDRES JIMENEZ
Beneficiary