PERRYSBURG, Ohio — Students at Owens Community College are using their coursework to help a Toledo man suffering from Alzheimer's.
Ruben Gonzalez has been caring for his father, Jose, for nearly two years since he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. And since then, Jose's condition has only worsened with further health complications.
"His memory, his ability to walk is just gone," Ruben said.
A student at Owens and friend of Ruben's reached out to him when she heard about him trying to raise money for a wheelchair. Her class project just so happens to involve using GoFundMe and a social media campaign to spotlight a local cause.
"We settled on this one because it was someone local and it was something we could all get behind," student Joanna Lussier said.
Ruben says he wants to shine a spotlight not only on Alzheimer's victims but also on those caring for them.
"Understand what not just what Alzheimer's is but what care giving does," Ruben said, "what it takes over emotionally, and physically and we're talking financially and it hits you from all different angles."
And Ruben says it's inspiring to see complete strangers step up to help his father get a small tool that will help him in a big way.
"As someone who's not from the Toledo area, it's really nice to build a connection with the surrounding area," Lussier said
"The daily things you see in the world, the news, the media, everything is so dark," Ruben added. "So when people come out of nowhere and say hey I wanna help you, you know it gives me hope, and you know that's something hard to find in a really dark situation."
If you would like to know more about their story, see the GoFundMe link below.