Don Sofonia, Cleveland, OH

2009 Cleveland Immediate Need Fund Recipient

Don & Julie lived in Cleveland and had been longtime supporters of Betterment.  The Sofonia's were extremely active in their church community of St. Dominic, and had been for more than 25 years.  Don helped organize the Christmas Tree sales for the youth programs and served as an usher for every Saturday Mass.  Using his professional connections, he always volunteered to do any printing at no cost for the school.  Earlier in the year, Don learned that he had cancer.  In 2008, he suffered through a heart problem that set their family back financially because he was unable to work.  Though they made it through without assistance, they utilized a lot of their extra funds to make ends meet.  Because of his treatment schedule, Don was unable to work one of his two jobs for six months.  With no money left in their reserves, he was worried that they would lose their home.  The donation from Betterment assisted them with the cost of mortgage payments.