James Donaldson is organizing this fundraiser.
Greetings,
My name is James Donaldson, a former NBA basketball player, and a very good friend of Joe Pace, dating back to 1980 when we both played against each other in the Italian professional basketball leagues.
I've remained good friends with Joe over the decades, and, he just hasn't been able to get "lady luck" to smile on him more often than not.
Joe has been homeless, suffered with drug addiction, alcoholism, depression, and even calling me recently with suicidal ideations.
Over the years, I've been right there for Joe as we both live in the Seattle area. I've helped him in setting up a bank account, depositing and cashing his government assistant checks, paying his utility bills and rent on a timely basis.
Joe only played two years in the NBA, and to be vested in the NBA retirement pension plan and medical coverage, you must play at least a minimum of three years in the NBA. He wasn't fortunate enough to be able to obtain that.
If you look at the recent news video interview with him, it can better tell the story.
After this news interview aired back in November 2021, a "virtual stranger" came up to Joe, and told him that she was going to start a Go Fund Me campaign for him to raise money for his necessary and very expensive dental work that he needs desperately.
She raised over $3600, and then "deactivated" the account, and made off with the money. Joe has no way of getting a hold of her, and I sent her a message on Go Fund Me before her account was deleted. I doubt if I'll ever hear from her, but we will see.
I ran a Go Fund Me account for Joe about five years ago, and was able to raise monies for his expenses and rent.
So, I spoke to Joe last week, and told him I would gladly get another campaign going for him.
Joe is a terrific guy, who has just fallen upon hard times, time after time. He's smart, intelligent, knowledgeable about the world around him, but just can't get a break. He came down with Covid back in September and spent almost one month in the hospital. He has underlying conditions such as diabetes, and the worsening case of arthritis in his back, hips and knees.
I love the man like he's my own brother. And even though our journeys through life have been vastly different, we've become very good friends over the years and look out for each other.
Please contribute and donate to this campaign for Joe Pace. He doesn't have a lot of people in his life he can trust, and he's been used, taken advantage of more times than anybody deserves (that's one of the many reasons he was thinking of taking his life) . I'm there for them, and I always will be.
Thank you so much for considering the support for my good friend, Joe Pace. As I did with helping him with his banking and making sure that his bills were paid, you can feel comfortable and confident that I will make sure all the money is gathered so that we have enough for his dental procedure in the next few months. And also, any money raised above our stated goal, will be used to make sure that all his bills and utilities are paid and current as well as his rent.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration,
James Donaldson
