Contact: Briana McCulloch, 512-970-6731 (cell)
MAY 21, 2020
Briana@KaileeMillsFoundation.org
Texas Children Reunited in Gifted Home After Parents’ Fatal Crash
Foundation Dedicated to Families of Crash Victims Rallies Community Support
(GROESBECK, TX) – Four Texas children, separated after their parents’ fatal crash, now will be able to live together as a family once more in a home gifted to them by a foundation dedicated to promoting seat belt use and assisting families of those killed in unrestrained car crashes.
A little more than a year ago, Daryl and Johanna Ferguson of Groesbeck, Texas were killed in a one-car rollover accident. Their children Bryston (18), Camden (16), Kovan (13) and Jaylee (8) began living with their grandmother who had just lost her husband of 36 years to cancer.
As the family was recovering from its losses, more adversity came their way. Due to difficult unforeseen circumstances, they lost their home during the Christmas holiday season. The Ferguson children temporarily were sent to live with friends and relatives in four separate homes in Groesbeck, Waco and College Station.
Today, the four Ferguson children and their grandmother, Judy Ferguson were presented with the gift of a fully furnished, three-bedroom, two-bath, red brick house in Groesbeck which they can finally all call home. The gift was the culmination of a months-long community effort led by the Kailee Mills Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2017 to promote seat belt use and assist families of those killed in unrestrained car crashes.
“We are so happy to be able to be together again,” said Kovan Ferguson. “It’s been really wild, crazy. We haven’t known what to expect but we just wanted to be together again. So today is amazing.”
Surrounded by family and friends, the Fergusons received the gift they have been dreaming of for six months, reunited in a place they can call home. If this wasn’t already the greatest day of their lives, Mickey Mantle’s son, David Mantle, was there to give these baseball fans autographed baseball cards that included a photo of him and his father.
Upon learning of the Ferguson children’s situation, the Kailee Mills Foundation, headquartered in Spring, Texas, joined the effort to reunite the family, establishing a $200,000 fundraising goal to make it happen.
“They were all split up, living with either family or friends; each child was in a different home,” said foundation president David Mills. “My heart goes out to these kids. Every day these kids were apart just broke our hearts and motivated us to push harder to find a solution.”
The foundation set up a gofundme page entitled “Reunite the Ferguson Children” which generated $116,000. Under its program to assist surviving families of crash victims, the Kailee Mills Foundation has donated $10,000, and will provide additional resources for grief counseling. Bryston Ferguson was also awarded a $20,000 college scholarship given under a separate foundation program.
Like 16-year-old Kailee Mills, Johanna Ferguson was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle during the crash that took her life.
The Kailee Mills Foundation would like to thank the following companies for their contributions to the Reunite the Ferguson’s effort: Office Furniture Liquidations, Venta Furnishings, First Responders Moving, Tri-Supply, Fish Creek Painting, United Landscape Construction & Supply, Honey’s Roofing.
The Kailee Mills Foundation is a 501 c 3 charity and all contributions are tax deductible. Donors to the Reunite the Ferguson Children may do so at www.kaileemillsfoundation.org/donate.
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