By Ernesto Cooke : It’s a small world after all.
World renowned YouTube personality Casey Neistat, is trying to assist one of his best friends, Marlan Franklyn, a Vincentian-born New York based UPS delivery man, often seen in his YouTube videos.
Marlan’s sister, Merlex Franklyn is in dire need of financial assistance towards kidney and diabetic treatment.
On his GoFundMe page it is stated that due to the severity of her illness, Merlex has lost the function of her kidneys. As a result she must receive dialysis twice a week.
Marlon was quoted as saying,
“Like so many, my sister does not have medical insurance. The responsibility has fallen on my siblings and I, to do what we can to help Merlex.
We are dedicated to taking care of our sister and others suffering with the same condition in St. Vincent.
Our hope is that you will find it in your heart to help us in taking care of our sister as she continues her fight with diabetes and kidney disease.
We vow that every cent you choose to graciously donate will be used to help Merlex and others in the same situation with their medical expenses”.
Casey Neistat was quoted as saying:
“UPDATE!! As of 12:30pm on Friday Sept 30th Marlan exceeded his goal (but please keep contributing!). Just wanted to acknowledge what a wonderful thing this is.
The world is full of problems. I, just like a lot of you, do what I can do donate to and support charities and the causes I believe in but this is different.
This is about one person, a friend and great human being who was struggling and hurting because of his concern for his sister. Together we came together and helped him and his sister. Making a difference manifests in all different ways – today it made a difference in one person’s life, a big difference. Thank you to everyone who contributed”.
Another popular blogger, Jack Coyne says:
“While this is a significant financial burden for Marlan it’s clearly an emotional one as well. He wants a better solution not only for his sister but for other people in St. Vincent suffering from the same condition. We talked a lot about what could be done to help these people who have little hope of getting improved care.
We decided to set up a small fundraiser to help out Merlex and others. All of the money is going to help pay for dialysis treatment but hopefully we can get the campaign to grow beyond paying for basic care to work toward better healthcare solutions for people suffering from organ failure in St. Vincent”.
Thus far, through Neistat’s pledge on YouTube, Franklyn’s cause in less than 24-hours has raised in excess of US$80, 000 in pledges towards a US$100,000 goal.
https://www.gofundme.com/2rckwss
