“We write this letter as an open letter that we hope you will share with the contributors and volunteers of the Gold Coast Community Giving Fund.

I write this letter with a full heart. It amazes me every day the difference that community organisations can make in the lives of those around them. We never expect it will be our family in need of help. A helping hand is however what the Gold Coast Community Giving team recently gave our family and I would like to let you know what a difference your contribution has made.

For those of you who don’t know us we are a family of 4. Pete and I, and our sons Chase (9) and Reeve (3). I have provided some more detailed information about our family below (fundraising flyer created by my sister a few months ago), but in short both Chase and Reeve have disabilities. Reeves is the most severe as after birth he had a stroke which has resulted in him having Right Hemiplegia Cerebral Palsy. In early 2019 I myself experienced some health issues and was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Needless to say we suddenly found ourselves in a position quite different to that we imagined when we got married, bought a house and had two kids!

Recently the Gold Coast Community Giving fund granted our application for assistance to raise funds for a new car. 

We have 2 old cars, both with big steps ups and high seats. Pete is 6ft2 and Reeve takes after him and at 3 is tall and is weighs in in at 18KG. Lifting him into and out of the high car when he can’t provide any assistance to hold his own weight has been getting harder. Add to that the weakness I experience with MS I have to admit I was starting to avoid trips. Both Pete and I have been pretty stressed about the car becoming unsuitable in the future and yet had no means to get a new car. 

The Rotary Upper Coomera Branch has been working on raising funds to help us with a new car for a while but honestly we had no expectations that Rotary could solve this one for us, however with the additional boost of funding from the GCCG – We were wrong! In January this year we were able to purchase a 2018 Kia Carnival. Even as I write this ,2 weeks after I got the keys it is still hard to believe!”.