Help Myra Buy a Car for Christmas

Three days earlier, I had been offered the position. Given only a brief rundown of what to do, I stepped into the dark school building at 6am. My stomach was completely in knots. I didn’t know what to expect or what I was doing. I needed to make this job work. My mom had died a year earlier and I was just starting to get back on my feet. Clumsily, I began to work my way through the building, turning on lights and preparing for the day of school ahead. After completing the tasks I knew I needed to do, I stepped into my office. Laying on the desk was a typed, detailed list of exactly what I needed to do and a note that read, “I hope this helps. Enjoy your first day. - Myra” I breathed a sigh of relief and began to complete the list Myra had left for me. I had no idea what else Myra was going to do for me in the time that would follow.

At 2pm, Myra came in for her shift and we talked about the day. Her list had saved me a great deal of frustration. Myra patiently listened as I asked a million questions about my new position and began to make a hundred mistakes. She not only taught me how to do my job but she became a sounding board for my ideas. She became an incredible friend and mentor. She became my work mom and has been so much more than a coworker to me. I’m so incredibly grateful she is in my life.

As I got to know Myra, she slowly began to open up and tell me her story. Myra has always been an incredibly hard worker who goes above and beyond for all of the staff in our building. To her, they are not just coworkers, they are family. She is always present, ready to listen, and ready to share her wisdom. Unfortunately, however, her wisdom has been obtained at a great cost to her.

Myra married a man who took advantage of her loyal, giving nature. She spent twelve years trying to make her marriage to this man work. When she needed to divorce him for her own well-being and the well-being of her son, he left the country and her with his massive amounts of credit card and medical debt. For Myra, being in debt was a new concept. She had always saved and had maintained a 800+ credit score. With her divorce all of that went away and she struggled, as a single mom, to provide for herself and her son.

Myra has made incredible strides toward fixing the situation that was left to her. She has managed to pay off a great deal of her ex-husband’s debt and to help her son, who is now nineteen, graduate high school and begin an internship following his passions. She is now facing a need that she does not have the capability to meet.

Myra bought a 2004 Jeep Liberty in 2007. She has taken exceptional care of her car but it is beginning to fail her. Various repairs are starting to nickel and dime her. For a couple of years, she has driven the Jeep with damage from a Colorado hail storm that dropped baseball sized hail on it. Now, the transmission is failing. Myra continues her hardworking ways and is persevering in supporting her son as he gets on his feet. She needs reliable transportation.

My goal is to raise $30,000 to buy Myra a low-miles, all wheel drive SUV to see her through the Colorado winters and help her continue to support her community and son. Myra does everything she possibly can to help herself. She is so deserving of not a hand-out but a hand-up!