Community donates money to help small business owner who was victim of theft

Mr. and Mrs. Phan stopped by our house on Christmas Eve to thank us for running their GofundMe campaign. As a reminder, they’re our neighborhood gardeners who were robbed of their truck, trailer, and mowers on July 4th — about $45,000 in total.

We opened a GoFundMe campaign on July 10 and reached its $10,000 goal four months later on Nov. 10. Arlene Touzi, Paula Klein and Larry Mugler took us to $10,175, a delight.

The Phans brought a big poinsettia plant, fruit and cookies, and a generous gift card. We sat in the living room and talked for 30 minutes, although I knew their six children would be coming home for Christmas and they had lots to prepare.

Yet they drove across town and spent this evening with us.

I asked what they were going to cook. Three of their children were born in Vietnam and three were born in the U.S. The Vietnamese children like Asian food and the American-born children like American food; so they cook both.

When Mr. Phan first came to the U.S., he worked as a chef. I asked if he knows how to make Vietnamese noodle bowls, and he said he did. I asked if he’d make me one, and he said, “Yes, but not tomorrow — tomorrow is Christmas.”

We laughed and I suggested waiting until he comes in the spring.

As you’ll remember, we were worried that their business would fail because of the robbery. Thanks to their hard work in the face of adversity, and thanks to your kind and generous donations, their business has continued uninterrupted. It’s been painfully hard work for them with 16-hour days, beginning and ending in the dark, but they succeeded.

One result of the GoFundMe project is that there’s a waiting list for those who want to hire the Phans. Mr. Phan said they had one very big customer last week, very big, and he thanked me for that.

As they left, Mr. Phan asked me to stop the GoFundMe campaign, and I did. The fund reached its goal, the Phans are back on their feet, they’ve renewed their American dream of owning a small business, and also I think they’re hard workers who dislike taking charity.

As they left, we said thank-yous and long goodbyes with hugs, near tears. It was a touching moment in our suburban living room.

In thanking us, the Phans were also thanking you, our Denver Post readers. All this is a blessing from you.

When Mr. Phan comes to clean up our yard in spring, his new trailer will be carrying new equipment. He’ll bring me a Vietnamese noodle bowl.

And it will be a new beginning.