Lend A Hand Up, Peoples Rising Academy supports Detroit Lakes family through auction
Anna and Fred Lassonde have suffered several unexpected medical issues over the last three years. The funds from the auction help with those costs.
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — Tragedy has seemed to keep sneaking its way into the life of the Lassonde family.
In March of 2017, while working on his car, an accident caused Fred Lassonde to suffer a traumatic brain injury, leaving the former Fargo Police detective temporarily without the ability to speak or to recall short-term memory.
With Fred out of work, the family was forced to move out of their home and tragedy struck again when a storm wrecked the storage facility where they were keeping their belongings.
Hardship continued when two more accidents caused Anna Lassonde to break both her back and pelvis.
The struggles understandably took a toll on the family.
“I had definitely put myself on the back burner trying to care for my kids, my husband. Trying to provide and do it all,” admits Anna. “With poor Fred being kind of down and out for a while, it has been a lot.”
In March, luck was on the Lassonde’s side when Anna met Jodi Plecity.
“Right away I knew when she started telling me their story about her and her husband. I was like, ‘You guys are a perfect fit for Lend A Hand Up,'” said Plecity.
Lend A Hand Up is dedicated to helping families dealing with financial issues brought on by medical crises.
They were inspired to help the Lassondes, but COVID-19 prevented them from holding their usual benefit.
Plecity, who runs her own nonprofit, Peoples Rising Academy, teamed up with Lend A Hand Up to create its first online auction, something they hope will go beyond benefiting just the Lassondes.
“It is going to help so many people in the future,” said Plecity. “This is just going to be an awesome opportunity to just connect more people to raise funds for families.”
Auction items include paintings done by Anna.
Art is one of the things she turned to during the difficult times. She even found a way to work through her injuries, starting her own business, Jollybird Studio, where she sells pieces of her work.
Her art has helped keep things positive as the family tries to overcome the obstacles that have come their way, but what has also helped is the support they received from those around them and that they have never lost their faith
“Saying a prayer even when times are hard, and just try to hang onto God and enjoy the ride,” said Anna with a smile.
