Hello everyone, My name is Brandi, and I am a proud single mother of five beautiful children from Tukwila, Washington. In exactly 6 days (on September 11), my youngest child and only son, Emilio J. Machorro, will take his final march and graduate from the US Marine Corps boot camp.Emilio has worked incredibly hard to earn his title, and he is my hero, my warrior, and my absolute pride and joy.As a single mom, making ends meet is always a challenge. I have spent the last few weeks working tirelessly and have managed to get our hotel lodging and ground transportation completely taken care of and locked in. However, due to severe financial hardship, I am completely short on funding for my round-trip flight ticket from Seattle to San Diego. Because graduation is next week, last-minute flight prices are rising rapidly every day. I have reached out to local churches and military relief charities, but time has run out, and there are no official programs available to cover this last-minute airfare breaks my heart to think that my son might look out into the crowd on one of the biggest days of his life and stand alone because his mother couldn't afford a flight ticket to be there.I am setting a small fundraising goal just to cover the exact cost of a standard economy flight ticket to San Diego and back. Any amount you can contribute will go directly toward getting me on that plane. If you cannot donate, please consider sharing this page with your friends, family, or military networks.Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me be there to salute my Marine.With gratitude,Brandi Gonzalez
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