Two boys are left without their father due to COVID-19.
Now, friends of Corey Charles are hoping to help give them one last gift from their dad.
Charles died on April 7 after a short battle with COVID-19, first testing positive on March 29.
According to family friend Dani Gosick, his passing surprised a lot of people because it appeared he was dealing with a mild case of the virus.
“Things moved fast but unassuming. Tested positive for COVID on March 29. He wasn’t hospitalized. He was definitely feeling a little under the weather, it sounded like, but I don’t think his friends or his family were concerned he was that sick and we were going to lose him,” Gosick said.
“The Monday before, he commented that he was feeling better and that he was coming out of it. I know the last few days he was really tired and unfortunately, he passed away in his sleep.
“I don’t think anyone had contemplated that this was a possibility. You know somebody is sick and we’ve all heard what COVID can mean but Corey was young, 32 years old, and he didn’t seem to be that ill and it just happened so fast. No one was prepared for that.”
He leaves behind two young sons, 14-year-old Ashton and five-year-old Kingston.
“Corey was very family-oriented, very very proud of his boys. Being a dad was very important to him. Now he won’t be able to help his kids as they grow older,” Gosick said.
Now, she and a few other friends are hoping a GoFundMe campaign can help his sons get the education they want in the future, whatever that may be. Gosick said the money raised will go to an education fund which can be accessed by each boy when they are old enough.
“We’re so happy that anyone is interested in helping us with our GoFundMe. Corey’s kids were just such an important part of his life and it’s hard to imagine growing up without your dad,” Gosick said. “We just think it would be a really nice gift from their father.”
The campaign has raised over $2,600 thus far. It can be found online.