Helping Hand: Local Business Raising Money For Amish Family Who Lost 4-Month-Old Baby Girl in Crash
After a week of bad news, it’s nice to see this story of neighborly love in response to tragedy. Last week we learned of a buggy crash in Montcalm County, Michigan, which left five Amish children in states ranging from “Serious” to “Critical” (injuring their mother as well).
If you missed my update coming a day after the accident, one of the injured children, a four-month-old baby girl, sadly later passed away.
In response, a local business owner is raising funds to help the family – who have the last name Shetler – by donating money from local festival parking.
More from WZZM 13:
GREENVILLE, Mich. — Zafar Abduvokhidov helps run Fresh Start Fitness in downtown Greenville.
The gym’s owner has gotten to know the Shetlers. The Amish family lives nearby.
“This year we’re charging $10 for parking, like we do every single year,” Abduvokhidov said. “But there’s a bigger cause behind this, the Shetler family.”
The family and the nearby Amish community suffered a tragedy Tuesday, when a crash between their buggy and a pickup truck took the life of their 4-month-old baby girl.
“When we heard about the news, we thought this would be a great idea to have for the money that we’re raising,” Abduvokhidov said.
Staff said that many people have come to donate $10 or $20, not even needing to park in the lot.
The Amish have their own support systems, but non-Amish reaching out to support them is nothing new, and of course I’m sure it is appreciated by the Shetler family here.
The Greenville community has a “Danish Fest” going on right now. As of two days ago, the business’s efforts had raised over $400, with the festival going through Sunday.
Bravo to these folks for doing something to help.
Donation
Is there a way we can send money electronically to the Shetler Famliy?
I have not seen anything but will gladly update the post with info if it becomes available.
Interesting background on this fellow
With a name like Zafar Abduvokhidov, I wanted to see if I could find more info on this man. Evidently he is not very old and is an immigrant from Uzbekistan. Here is a link to a PDF about him published by the community college he is attending.
https://www.montcalm.edu/media/5uvhmvcx/early-college-zafar-abduvokhidov.pdf
Sounds like quite an interesting, impressive fellow!
Agreed - A Fine Fellow
How impressive it is to see someone grab at every opportunity to make something of himself. He came here with nothing and is now on his way to a great career. Compare him to people who are born here and moan and wring their hands complaining, “there’s no opportunity in America!”