“We just wanted to get the story out that there are so many families like ours who are hurting nowadays because of gas prices and the economy,” Vincent — who has been spending $200 a week on gas — tells PEOPLE. “We knew we weren’t the only ones.”
But within days of the interview airing onCBS Evening News, their long-dormantGoFundMepage — which coworkers of Ginger’s mom, Analiza, started a year and a half ago to help the rural Indiana family — suddenly exploded with donations.
“We had been going downhill fast,” says Vincent, who had begun relying on short-term, high-interest loans to help cover their transportation costs for weekly one-hour drives from their home in Knox to a medical facility in South Bend.
“We’re just so overwhelmed with the generosity of people,” says Vincent, whose daughter, a competitive athlete, was diagnosed with bone cancer over a year ago.
Jinger Vincent.GoFundMe
“We can’t believe it,” he continues. “We’re humbled and in shock. It’s just mind-boggling. We’ve suddenly got some breathing room now. We’re not worried about losing the house or where the next groceries are going to come from.”
Now Jinger is expressing her appreciation in a video the family has asked PEOPLE to share with readers.
“I’m here to say thank you — a massive, massive thank you to everyone,” the 15-year-old says in the clip above. “We cannot express enough how thankful we are, how much gratitude and appreciation we have towards everyone.”
Thanks to the support, visits to the gas station have suddenly become much less stressful for the family, who has often relied on temporary housing from theRonald McDonald House, located near the hospital where Ginger has been receiving chemotherapy and medical treatments.
“Going to the pump became a mental battle,” says Vincent, whose wife has now discontinued their GoFundMe page and is urging people to donate to the Ronald McDonald House. “We always knew we were going to put gas in the car no matter what to get Jinger to her appointments, but we skimped on so many other things. There’s bills out there we haven’t paid, but we’re slowly catching up with everything.”
Besides helping to pay those bills, the family’s recent media exposure — and the accompanying attention — has also helped lift Jinger’s spirits.
“She’s been reading about herself online, watching her interview and it just lit her up,” says Vincent, whose daughter recently underwent surgery on her lungs to remove several cancerous nodules. “She was like a hollow person before all this started, but now she’s got a bit of positive emotion and it’s really done her a lot of good.”
source: people.com
