Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Freeborn.
Hi Beth, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in South Texas on a cattle ranch. I graduated from high school in 1979 from a very small town. I was good in math, so I decided that since computers were taking over the world, I needed to control computers. I graduated from Texas A&M University with a Computer Science degree. Even though my grades weren’t the best, I got my dream job with a NASA contractor originally supporting the first PCs at JSC, later working on the design for the International Space Station. with Mission Operations Division. At one point, I got tired of working for a government agency and took a job in the private sector with Motorola in Austin.
A few years after moving to Austin, my husband and I had a son named Harley. Harley was pretty precocious and was good with numbers. At 4 years old, he could add, subtract, multiply and divide and understood concepts like negative numbers and a little about infinity. When he was 5 and about to start kindergarten, we realized he was having problems seeing.. We took him to an ophthalmologist where he was diagnosed with an optic glioma, a brain tumor growing in his optic nerve. The tumor was non-life threatening, but caused him to go blind. After numerous brain surgeries and several rounds of chemotherapy, he was deemed cancer free when he was 11.
Harley handled being blind very well, but he started having issues with nose bleeds and numerous sinus infections. At age 13, he was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) most likely caused by the chemo therapy he had when he was younger. The MDS later turned into Leukemia (AML). He died trying to get a bone marrow transplant (BMT) almost a month after he turned 18.
During his 13 years fighting cancer and dealing with his blindness, Harley helped raise money for numerous organizations that supported kids with cancer and he made speeches to advocate for blind people. When we got home from the BMT center, we found his wallet with $246 in it. We weren’t sure why he had this much money in the hospital, but eventually we decided to use it to carry on Harley’s legacy of supporting kids with cancer and advocating for blind people. in 2018, we formed Harley’s Wallet.
You can find out more about our 501(c)3 non-profit organization on our webpage, harleyswallet.org.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
At first, I experienced some culture shock when I moved from a small rural area to College Station and Houston and later Austin. Growing up on a ranch made me somewhat isolated. However, when I figured out a I could have pizza delivered to my apartment, I was hooked.
Also, in the 1980’s, NASA was still somewhat a “boy’s club”, but they were trying to change and I was fortunate enough to see these changes happening.
Some of my experiences probably help me when I was advocating for my very smart but blind child. When we went to his first meeting with his teachers for special education (AARD), I told them that he was intelligent and that I did not want to see him just get pushed through school. My goal was to see him reach his maximum potential. I think that worked very well for us.
My biggest challenge came when we found out that Harley was not going to make it. We never even thought that was possible, even going into the BMT and knowing the survival rate is very low and that we didn’t have a perfect match. And then afterwards, I had to figure out how to live without him, without being Harley’s mom. My career faltered which was a little bit normal since I was in my mid-50’s and decided not to take the easiest path when the contract I was on went to another company. So I kind of stumbled and later just let myself be laid off. Then I tried being a real estate agent which was not for me. So I retired and Harley’s Wallet is now my passion and I still get to be Harley’s Mom.
One challenge we had with Harley’s Wallet was during the pandemic. We were a small organization and struggling with fundraising. When the pandemic shutdown hit in 2020, we had to figure out how to raise money without having a fundraiser with upwards of 100 people in attendance. We discovered a company that provided online silent auction capabilities and we did an online event. it definitely got us through that year.. And luckily, I have a background in computers that helped me get it set up for success.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our mission is to help kids in need and their families. We emphasize the areas we know about – kids with cancer and kids living with blindness – but we have branched out to help some of the most vulnerable of kids through a few organizations that provide emergency foster care and shelter for kids that have been trafficked.
We believe that every kid should have a chance to learn, to be comforted, to feel safe, and to live. We plan our programs based on this concept.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My husband is my greatest champion and I have great group of family members and friends who served as our board of directors. They all knew and loved Harley and do what they can to keep Harley’s Wallet going.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://harleyswallet.org
- Instagram: @harleyswalletnonprofit
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harleyswallet.org
- Twitter: @walletharley
