It has taken me awhile to put this together, but, as many of you know, we celebrated my son Jason's first heavenly birthday with an "I Got You Day." I was so overwhelmed by the response from my friends and family on that day that I wanted to document it. I struggled trying to figure out how to get through his birthday and then it came to me. Or I should say, Jason handed the idea to me. As many of you know, one of Jason’s favorite sayings was “I Got You.” He used it all the time for so many positive reasons. So, we decided to celebrate his birthdays going forward as “I Got You” days. That is, we did and will, spend the day trying to help others… trying to show them that there are people out there that “got them” and are there to help get them through their day. For the first one, my sister Sherri and my husband Gregg joined me in delivering clothes, food, personal care items and toys to Homeless Shelters, to individual homeless people we encountered on the streets, to Animal Shelters and to the Ronald Reagan Children's Hospital. We stopped and wished Jason a happy birthday in the middle of our day and let him know that we were keeping his spirit alive. We started the day at Starbucks and ended the day at McDonalds and bought drinks and meals for those behind us. Included below are some of the things that my friends and family did on May 6th to honor Jason and help those in their community. I am sure I missed some of you but know I appreciate everyone for what they did. Also included below is a newsletter from the Food Shelter and an email from the Homeless Shelter that we received after the day. Next year, and in the coming years, we hope to make this a much bigger event. So please mark your calendars for May 6th, ""I Got You Day." I am working on a logo we can use that day. Included in this post is version 1, but we are working on additional versions. Thank you Jason for giving me a way to both honor you and make your birthday a happy day for me going forward. Love and miss you dude… #igotyou #excusemymodertation #jasonfranklin55
Hazel Bautista Specially for Jason! Thank You Jan for this wonderful idea. I Got You!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ (Hazel's pics from the day below.... helping the homeless..)
PICTURES FROM OUR DAY (Jan, Gregg and Sherri)...
LETTER FROM THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY RESCUE MISSION Dear Jan, My sincerest apologies on my tardy response. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Valentine (Val) and I am an administrative assistant here at the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. I get all of the emails that are sent to our info email from the website. I had the privilege to receive your email about “I Got You Day.” As you can imagine, sometimes this job can be burdensome and even discouraging. But receiving your sweet email was such a blessing. Mary is one of our incredible volunteers, she is wonderful, we are so glad you were met by her and given a warm SFVRM welcome. It was so encouraging to receive your email and read about not only what you donated but the WHY of your donation. As you can imagine, we get lots of donations in and out of here, but yours was so inspiring and full of hope and promise. We are so sorry for the loss of your son. No matter what is said, I know that no words can ever sum up the weight of devastation and sorrow that comes when a mother loses a child. Not being a biological mother myself, I cannot even begin to imagine it. As an “adoptive” spiritual mom, I have walked in those shoes and know how devastatingly hard that was, but I cannot imagine how much more intense your process was. I am so moved by your strength and how you have turned grief into inspiration! Perhaps this is why your email impacted me and blessed my heart so much! As is the case with the Lord, He is so faithful in the way he redeems all things and makes beauty out of ashes. It is so encouraging to see how Jason’s memory gets to live on forever! What a wonderful message you brought to our guests by letting them know that someone out there “has them.” Your donation went farther than a simple means to meeting needs. It was impactful and incredibly personal and that goes such a long way. We are so grateful that you chose to share your story, your incredible son’s thoughtfulness and compassion and the ways that you loved on so many strangers that day! It is because of people like Jason, YOU, Gregg and Sherri that the message of hope and kindness can go out into the world! We are so happy to stand with you on May 6th to celebrate “I Got You Day!” We printed your letter and picture and it sits in our break room and in our shelter. Jason (and you) will not be forgotten. May God bless you now and always! Thank you for thinking of us and for donating and thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this. All the best, Val Curiel Admin Assistant
NEWSLETTER FROM THE VALLEY FOOD BANK
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Megan Palacios
10/5/2019 11:47:30 am
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AuthorHi, I'm Jan Franklin. I am and will always be Jason Franklin's mother. He was everything to me. He brought such joy to me and so many others in his short life. I will never ever forget him. Archives
October 2019
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