By Chad Klassen

Family friends ramp up fundraising campaigns for Jessie Simpson

Sep 16, 2016 | 4:47 PM

KAMLOOPS — While 19-year-old Jessie Simpson remains in grave condition at Royal Inland Hospital, recovering from a baseball bat beating in June, friends of the family have organized more fundraising campaigns to help out.

Christina Forde and her daughter Merissa Mairs have set up fundraisers at General Grants on the North Shore, where people can donate their bottles and cans to Simpson’s family. They have also partnered with Value Village downtown.

“I had an email exchange with Value Village, who offered to take in donations and trade for funds towards the GoFundMe account for Jessie,” says Forde. “So we’re collecting donations, second-hand items.”

The GoFundMe page for Simpson has reached more than $11,000. Simpson’s mother isn’t working, as the family deals with his condition. He’s still on life support.

“There isn’t much change, no,” says Forde. “The outside appearance is definitely getting better. But the inside has not quite caught up. The family, they’re holding together, but you can see that it’s been a long haul so far for them. They definitely have a lot of strength and courage and determination.”

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