We can’t Say No to This One.

I struggled for a long time with this one.

As I am sure you can imagine, we have to say no a lot. We get so many requests for help, and we simply can’t do it all.

And there are many reasons—sometimes we simply don’t have the bandwidth to take on anything else. Sometimes, having just come off a big case or another big fundraising initiative, I’m not confident that we’d be able to raise the funds we need for it. And sometimes it comes down to whether or not I think I am going to be able to tell their story well enough to get you to want to support it?

One thing I never want to do is say yes to a case and then not be able to follow through with it. I never want to have to make that call to say, “I’m sorry, we just weren’t able to get it done this time.”

And those decisions weigh heavily on me — it's never easy. Given the sheer scope of what we do, I know that in some cases, we are their only option— and I know that if we can’t do it, they will end up losing their house, or there will be a mom that has to stay in an abusive situation, or [fill in the blank].

In this case, having just wrapped up the bulk of the fire relief efforts, this one checked a couple of those boxes. I didn’t know if we would have the bandwidth to take this one on as we are still working on fire related stuff, and I didn’t know if you, as donors, would have the capacity to help with another one so soon after having just shown up huge for the fire victims.

But I feel drawn to this one.

I think partly because I know that we’re the only ones that can do it. We are the only ones that have the ability to band together, like we always do, to raise enough, fast enough, to stand in the gap for this kid and actually make a difference. At the end of the day, there’s a 9-year-old boy who needs us to show up, and I just don’t have it in me to say no.

Here’s what I mean–

2 weeks ago, Declan, a 4th-grade student at Serene Hills Elementary, tragically lost his father after he was fatally shot. It was Feb. 1st, 1:40 a.m., and Declan's whole world changed in an instant.

And now, what little bit of normalcy is left in his little shattered world is also being threatened, as he faces the real possibility that he may never get to go back to school to see his friends, he may never get to play out in the neighborhood with his friends again, or ride their bikes up and down the only streets he’s ever known— because he may have to move.

It’s a complicated case with a lot of different pieces to it, but here’s the part that matters — We need to help him and his mom get housing, we need to get him back at school (his school), and they both need to happen quickly.

He already had to move out of his house last week and is currently staying with his mom and grandparents in Waco while his mom tries to secure a new place for them here so to not uproot him. Luckily, she was able to find a really kind gentleman in Old Lakeway to work with them, in the same neighborhood they were in. She has already secured a job here, which she is able to start immediately once they get settled, but she needs our help with the place.

Declan and his father.

We need:

• Minimum 3-months of rent, plus security deposit, just to secure the place and get them moved in this week.

• A couple of days in a hotel here, so he can return to school immediately while we work on it.

• And we would need a few months' worth of utilities while she gets settled.

• Help getting her a car.

So, look…

I know we’ve done a lot these past few weeks, you and I, but there’s a 9-year-old boy that has already lost more than any child should, and I just don’t have it in me to let him lose his home, his friends, and his school too.

Our goal is $12,000.

Put “Declan” in the notes when you donate.