Recovery fund for Shaun

[dtw]

All,
As you may have read here, Shaun was in a wreck, one of our longtime contributors, Shaun Budka, was in a terrible car wreck this weekend. He has sustained cerebral hemorrhaging, a broken pelvis, and a dislocated hip, among lots of other minor damage. His station wagon was completely destroyed (65mph head-on collision with stationary object - even a W124 Benz couldn't survive that).

If you have been around this board any length of time at all, chances are that Shaun has done you a favor. He's sent out free or almost-free car parts to many of us. He's sent free clothing for our kids from his business. And perhaps most noteworthy of all, he actually organized the surprise rebuilding of another member's totaled 911 track car. If memory serves, that member was between jobs at the time and funds weren't available to replace the car, and it was a bitter loss to suffer.

To keep the good karma flowing, I'd like to help Shaun get back on his feet. Shaun is in many ways a one-man show at his business, and he has been blessed each season with orders larger than the last. The downside of this is that each season, he has been reinvesting every dime of cash flow back into the business, mostly to fund production. He's going to need some cash to help with his recovery. I'm calling upon everyone to contribute, any amount will help. Hopefully the funds raised can help him get a new car, get some rehab/physical therapy, hire some extra help, whatever his needs may be.

I've set up a paypal fund to collect funds; just click the button below. Every dime (less paypal fees) will go directly to Shaun. It would be great if we could raise $5K or more to help him get on his feet. Any amount will help, but in the spirit of Shaun's occasional t-shirt sales here, I'm requesting at least $25. Thanks again, and I'll post daily updates on our fundraising progress. I'll start us off with $100 into the pot.

(link removed - goal met and exceeded - thanks so much to all the pelicans!)

Update, 8.7.12 9:30 AM EST
This morning Shaun will have another MRI to determine if the bleeding has stopped in his brain. If so, he might get released today. Then will begin the task of rehabilitation. Though he is much more coherent now, his brain is still not fully cooperating and it is going to take time before he's running on all his batteries again.

The fundraising went great last night, and I just hope we can keep this pace up for a while. Thank you all for your generosity. Shaun's Mac laptop miraculously survived the wreck and was recovered, so he may check in here at Pelican soon. I'd like to keep the fundraising totals a surprise for him, so if anyone would like to know the current total, shoot me a PM.

Update, 8.7.12 9:45 PM EST
Thank you so much for the continued donations. The paypal notification emails have been pouring in today. We are making a meaningful impact here. I didn't get to talk to Shaun today, but he texted me and is headed straight to bed. Before he went to bed, he emailed me these





Update, 8.10.12 12 PM EST
All,
This has been a phenomenal experience to be a part of. We have raised far more money than I had thought possible. In less than 5 short days, we have raised over $9,000! This is almost double the working goal of $5K that I had established, and will net over $8,800 for Shaun after paypal fees. These funds will primarily be used to replace the W124 wagon and cover some of the miscellaneous medical and other costs related to the wreck. I also hope Shaun buys a new car charger for his cel phone, which has been MIA since the accident . I did inform Shaun last night of what we’ve done, and he is completely overwhelmed. I will let him express himself when he’s ready; I won’t say anything further, except that he is completely blown away and still processing this. What I told him is that this is not a charity case, just a karmic repayment (though we are going to expect pics of his new ride). Many of the contributors have posted, PM’d, or emailed with stories about the things Shaun has done to help them out. Some of the best stories aren’t even public information on this board, but they’re just more accounts of what we already know.

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated, whether you sent along a word of encouragement, a prayer, and/or a donation. The worst is over for Shaun but the recovery is going to take months, and as he tries to cope with what happened, the threads here on Pelican are going to help him out a lot.

At this time I am going to remove the links to the donation fund as I believe we have accomplished much more than we expected. Thanks again to everyone – you guys are the best.
-dtw

[Hugh R]

donated.

[ben parrish]

Great idea! Heal quickly Shaun.

[Danimal16]

Donated.

Best wishes Shaun.

[dtw]

Thanks to our first contributors - we're off to a great start. Already had contributions from the east coast here in NC, to Hawaii. Thanks again, to all. Few here are more deserving than Shaun of a karmic repayment.

[syncroid]

Donated.
I wish you a speedy recovery Shaun.

[Zeke]

Yes, Shaun sent me some long hood horn grills for nothing way back when. I will be donating. I abandoned PP 2 years ago, but I really do need to set it back up. Hang on, it'll get there.

[nostatic]

They paypal link doesn't work for me.

[Mrmerlin]

Get better soon Shaun,
God Bless you and your family

[dtw]

Originally Posted by nostatic

They paypal link doesn't work for me.

Hi Todd,
Thanks for the heads-up on the button. Try this html link:

Try This

Get better Shaun.

[Nostril Cheese]

Donated. Get well soon

[maxnine11]

Donation made.

Hoping for a speedy recovery for Shaun!!

[carreradpt]

Donated. Hope you get back on your feet quickly Shaun.

[Unobtanium-inc]

I've been a recipient of Shaun's generosity on more than one occassion, including all of the times he has given me parts he didn't feel like taking home when we shared space next to each other at the Hershey Swap. Donating to help him get back on his feet was a no-brainer.

Get well soon!

-- Matt

[Buckterrier]

I hate humans but gawd-damnit we pull thru for one another.
God's speed Shaun.

A bit of humor Shaun, I gave the frames to my brother to sell for scrap. he got a whole $12.00. Spent more on gas I think!

Donation made for an awesome human.

[lowyder993s]

As Pelican goes, so go I. Get well soon!

[911dean]

Donated. Have a speedy recovery!

[TRE Cup]

Donated
A speedy recovery and a long healthy life to you Shaun

[dtw]

Originally Posted by KremerOtha

Great idea! Heal quickly Shaun

I have to have earned some kind of weird internet badge of honor, having a spambot respond to a thread like this. Post reported...

In other news - response is overwhelming. Watching the response here this evening, indeed over the last two days, has been incredible. You have all literally worn out the vibrate function on my iPhone with all the emails coming in. It doesn't work. Kaput.

The response here proves that Shaun's living well has been its own reward, and it also proves what the Pelicans are made of. Quality folks, the lot of you. It is an honor. Thank you for your generous and timely support.