Aaron Meyer Foundation, LLC

17 W Gilman in Madison's Mansion Hill neighborhood. The future home of The Aaron House.

In the spring of 2005 Aaron's post high school plans included returning to Bend, OR to attend Bend Community College with some of his friends from Mount Bachelor Academy (MBA) in Prineville, OR. Aaron's idea was to live with guys who shared his challenges. "We'll help each other stay clean. We all know what we're going through" is what Aaron told me. Knowing these guys had built a friendship on fighting a common cause, I believed Aaron had a plan that had merit. I suggested we go back to Bend together to retrieve what he left at MBA, find a house to buy and he and his friends could purchase it from me, fix it up and later rent it to MBA grads who desire to stay for school at Bend. Aaron was up for the idea and even offered to let me "hang out for a week" with him and his buds after we bought the house.

All summer I thought about what we had planned and how it would never be. Seeing Aaron's friends go off to college was a serious hurt. Never seeing Aaron come home is an agony we have every day. We raise our children to go off on their own. When they are ready, our whole being desires to see them fly. Not seeing Aaron leave home to go off on his own in the world as a young adult is a void that can never be filled. I can only speak for myself, but I think it is a desire as natural as nourishment. It's damn painful to have this void.

In the summer last year, Shelly Dutch of Connections Counseling, invited me to sit in on group counseling sessions with teens and college students. After 90 days of sobriety, the student "graduates" and is welcome to sit in as a peer, giving leadership to others. Two boys started and completed their 90 days in the program while I was attending. At their graduation, sitting between their parents, I heard the young men describe their challenge of being in college, living in a chaotic house of other young men, and trying to live clean and sober. They now had a higher value on their education, desired to stay sober, but were living with guys who had no reason to stay clean and sober.

Aaron's plan seemed to be a good idea for guys like these fellows. With lots of help from people like Randy Haveson www.RandySpeaks.org, Steve Brown and his staff including Dan Seeley www.SteveBrownApts.com, the great people on the Aaron Meyer Foundation and others like Tom Farley of www.ChrisFarleyFoundation.Org we will be open in January, 2007.

Residents can attend any of the post high school educational opportunities in Madison. The house is located close to UW, MATC, Upper Iowa University, Herzing College, and other places of higher education. Students can come from Anywhere USA to further their eduction, work on sobriety, and live in a safe and fun environment.

Horizon High School made a donation of $6,600 last week. With that money we are on our way to raising $50,000 by the end of December this year.

Our house will be named in honor of Aaron. His friends are coming up with the name and will be building the web site for www.AaronMeyerFoundation.org. It should be on-line as early as a week from today.

Donations can be made to the Aaron Meyer Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 organization. Our Federal Tax ID number is 20-3237066. Mail contributions to:

Aaron Meyer Foundation, LLC
3994 Shadows Ct
DeForest, WI 53532

When the web site is up and running, you will be able to make donations on-line. You are always welcome to mail contributions.

Rejuvinated by the excitement of Aaron's impact in our community,
Peace
Tom