“I went to wake up my son Frankie for work only to find that he would never go to work ever again.

What an awful morning. Followed by so many horrible days. There are no words to describe the whirlwind of emotions I went through.

I barely remember most of those first weeks but I do remember how much the funeral was going to cost and thinking “I’ll never be able to pay for this.” What an empty feeling. What would happen if I couldn’t come up with the money?

Everyone deserves a decent send off.

What an impossible choice to make. Luckily for me, I was raised to believe that you should carry life insurance for your kids but it wasn’t nearly enough.

Because of the generosity of friends, family and strangers, I was able to cover it – but not everyone is so lucky. Not everyone has insurance or a bank account large enough to pay for such a hefty and unexpected expense.

That’s why we started this fund. I had helped others quietly over the years, because I understood – the little that I could donate was only a drop in the bucket. I could only do a little alone.”