Is there something we can do for Dr Strangelove? (OP with Paypal Link)

Here's the deposit receipt.  I realize this doesn't say the name of the account.  If there's any doubt, I would bet you can use the transaction number to verify the deposit.  If that's not good enough.  As soon as the check clears, I will post a pic of the check (from my account at MSUFCU to the Matthew Chaplin Memorial Fund).  Thanks for everything you guys did.  

Thanks, Roc.

Thanks Roc.

Thank you for doing this.

Echoing the thanks, Roc.

Thanks, Roc. You’re a good person.

Just an update to everyone: I attempted to attach a short letter with our donation for Matt’s kids, but the bank couldn’t or wouldn’t do that, so I reached out to his mom on social media, (fb messenger) but she never got back to me (understandable). So Shabooms lives in the area and offered to try for me, and that’s the direction we’re going in for now. If this doesn’t work, no big deal. The kids have the money, that’s what we wanted. I was thinking that maybe knowing a group of idiots on the internet cared about their dad might be nice, but perspective. You all did a really good thing. Thank you!

Try his sister as a contact, she seems to have been more active on the facebooks.

thanks for coordinating that, Roc.

Thanks for the work Roc. For a brief stretch of time tSwill was, dare I say it, a functional group.

Posted on RCMB:

“Dear MSU Red Cedar Family -

Thank you doesn't seem like enough.

Our hearts are broken and we are devastated by the loss, but one thing that has become apparent to us is that the man you knew as Dr. Strangelove had many friends who loved him just as much as we do.

My brother had a gift for making friends and keeping them. He was fiercely loyal - a loyal son, a loyal brother, a loyal father and a loyal friend.

Thank you so much for your contributions in his memory for his daughters. My family is overwhelmed and so touched by your love and support.

We will miss him and that will not stop. We are grateful that he was more loved than we ever knew. Thank you.

Dr. Strangelove's Sister”

And sent to me by his mom:

“(My name) thank you for reaching out. I tried to call you the other night, but I only had an old number. (An addresss). The generosity of the Spartan fans has left us stunned. Thank you again.”

Great job you guys. Your generosity and caring have shined a little light for this family in an awful, dark time.

Rocinante wrote:Posted on RCMB:

“Dear MSU Red Cedar Family -

Thank you doesn't seem like enough.

Our hearts are broken and we are devastated by the loss, but one thing that has become apparent to us is that the man you knew as Dr. Strangelove had many friends who loved him just as much as we do.

My brother had a gift for making friends and keeping them. He was fiercely loyal - a loyal son, a loyal brother, a loyal father and a loyal friend.

Thank you so much for your contributions in his memory for his daughters. My family is overwhelmed and so touched by your love and support.

We will miss him and that will not stop. We are grateful that he was more loved than we ever knew. Thank you.

Dr. Strangelove's Sister”

And sent to me by his mom:

“(My name) thank you for reaching out. I tried to call you the other night, but I only had an old number. (An addresss). The generosity of the Spartan fans has left us stunned. Thank you again.”

Great job you guys. Your generosity and caring have shined a little light for this family in an awful, dark time.

Very powerful. I have a Wells Fargo branch in my town can I show up and donate to that? Doc was a great dude I'd love to help out and feel bad I was slow to the draw.

steveschneider wrote:

Rocinante wrote:Posted on RCMB:

“Dear MSU Red Cedar Family -

Thank you doesn't seem like enough.

Our hearts are broken and we are devastated by the loss, but one thing that has become apparent to us is that the man you knew as Dr. Strangelove had many friends who loved him just as much as we do.

My brother had a gift for making friends and keeping them. He was fiercely loyal - a loyal son, a loyal brother, a loyal father and a loyal friend.

Thank you so much for your contributions in his memory for his daughters. My family is overwhelmed and so touched by your love and support.

We will miss him and that will not stop. We are grateful that he was more loved than we ever knew. Thank you.

Dr. Strangelove's Sister”

And sent to me by his mom:

“(My name) thank you for reaching out. I tried to call you the other night, but I only had an old number. (An addresss). The generosity of the Spartan fans has left us stunned. Thank you again.”

Great job you guys. Your generosity and caring have shined a little light for this family in an awful, dark time.

Very powerful. I have a Wells Fargo branch in my town can I show up and donate to that? Doc was a great dude I'd love to help out and feel bad I was slow to the draw.

I'd say yes, assuming the account is still open, which I'm sure it is. It's called The "Matthew Chaplin Memorial Fund" or "account". not sure. They had no problem finding it when I went in. Awesome, steve.

Rocinante wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

Very powerful. I have a Wells Fargo branch in my town can I show up and donate to that? Doc was a great dude I'd love to help out and feel bad I was slow to the draw.

I'd say yes, assuming the account is still open, which I'm sure it is. It's called The "Matthew Chaplin Memorial Fund" or "account". not sure. They had no problem finding it when I went in. Awesome, steve.

Thanks, I'll see what I can do Saturday morning.

Hey y'all. So I have been communicating with Matt's mom and at her request, have sent her some info about us. I will share our communications (where appropriate) here (and on RCMB) when it concludes. Thanks.

Help me out here guys.  I got most of the references from the donations (114.63, 27.23, 288.02) but are there some I'm missing?  38.14? 52.88?  31.00?

38-14 may be Western Michigan 2010, when Bell ran for a shit ton of yards in his first ever game.

Posted over at the other board. tl:dr - Matt's mom says thanks and I am my usual overly verbose self.

Hey y’all: Some final loose ends, then I will consider this matter closed and will slink back over to my main haunt. I had some communications with Matt’s mom, which I have included here (with some personal information removed). In addition, if anyone wants to continue to donate to The Matthew Chaplin Memorial Fund, you can go in to any Wells Fargo Branch and donate, or if you have no Wells Fargo branches, you can call 1-800-869-3557 and they can help you get a donation in. Just tell them what account and I think you can donate over the phone. Thanks again to everyone who chipped in, especially our anonymous angel who dropped a cool thousand to get us to our goal. Ballers be ballin. Go Green! RIP Dr. Strangelove, our Spartan brother.

An Email to Matt’s Mom:

Hi ___________,

Thank you for responding to me. Please find attached the letter I had meant to send with our donation. As I explained in my previous message, the bank had no way of including it, which is why I reached out to you.

A little background to help answer your questions about the organizers. Without their permission I won't use their real names (I honestly don't know all of them), but I'll try to give you a rundown. When we found out about Matt and Jenna's deaths, we were stunned. Only a small number of us had actually ever met him (at MSU games or events surrounding MSU), but we knew him as well as someone can on the internet. He was always an active member of our online community, and always quick with a joke. He was opinionated, but never disrespectful and he and I had a few good arguments over the years. When your daughter in law passed, we knew about it. Most without a lot of detail, but we tried in our way to support Matt during that time. It was inspiring how he rallied back, and found a way to go on and do what needed to be done for his girls. He was clearly a wonderful father and a good man. This thoughtless tragedy was like a bolt to our little community. We were literally stunned. A normally active little group at SpartanSwill was quiet for pretty much a couple days after we heard the news.

After we got our bearings, we quickly decided to organize a pool to donate to the kids. The web address is in the attached letter, but in case you want to check it out now it's still HERE). I was the main organizer of the effort, but without the help of those spreading the word, it wouldn't have taken off like it did. We engaged with another, much larger group at the Red Cedar Message Board and after that, people who knew him only on the board and some who had met him out in the real world piled in with their support. I wanted to get the funds to the Memorial account at Wells Fargo as quickly as possible, so once we met our goal (about 6 days) I shut it down and did the appropriate legwork to get it to your family. And here we are.

I'm glad we could "talk" so that you could understand that even though most of us didn't know Matt personally, we feel his loss deeply and we are here with you in your sorrow. One thing I've always loved about these Alumni/fan MSU communities is that in the 20+ years I've been engaged with them, they have always stepped up and supported one another in difficult times.

Some people (on both message boards) who I couldn't have done it without are (in no particular order): Username On SpartanSwill: DWags, WhiteBoyHatcher, and pulling69. Username on RCMB: Notorious GiB, Mel (Melissa Barnes), pulling69, Shabooms

They helped by getting the word out, and getting me as much information as I needed to reach out to you. As you may have figured out, I do not have a Facebook or other social media account, so they were my eyes, ears and bullhorn in that respect.

In the end, we know that this is not much in the grand scheme of these girls' lives, but hopefully, the knowledge that their dad was appreciated by folks all over the country who have been thinking about them and praying for them since we heard the news might be some small comfort. I know you are dealing with so much right now; things you probably have no energy or motivation to do, so I really appreciate you responding to me. Please always remember, that yes, we are crude, yes, we can be annoying and petty (usually about sports or politics), and yes, we are a bunch of sports nerds, but we were Matt's extended Spartan Family and we are yours as well. We're not going anywhere, so if you ever want to talk, or rant, or goof off, you know where to find us.

With sincere love to you and your family,

_____________________

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

And here’s the text of the letter I attached:

Date: March 5, 2019

Dear ____ & ___,

You don’t know us, but we care about you. Your father was a good man. We are his (and your) extended Spartan family. Most of us shared nothing more with your dad than an affiliation with a university. Some of us had met him, and a few of us knew him in the real world, but most of us knew him just as a name on a computer screen. To the Michigan State Spartans that regularly share a love of sports and stupid inside jokes, he was Dr. Strangelove, a diehard Spartan with a great sense of humor and a clear love for his girls. We knew about the passing of your mother, and shared our sympathies with your dad. We also watched him rally after that tragedy and rededicate to the two of you. We respected him very much. When we heard about what happened we wanted to help. We know that after all you’ve been through this isn’t much, but we sincerely hope that the people that love you and support you through this time will help you to know that there is goodness in this world and that having people in your life that you can love and trust is really the only thing that matters.

We pooled donations (https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8cBnaAvyUz). They were anonymous, but some folks left messages. They are included as an attachment. If you need any other information, the pool manager’s contact information is also included. Again, we are so, very sorry for your loss. There are no words that can express our sympathy. We hope that in time, healing comes to you and to Jenna’s family.
Sincerely,

Your Spartan Family
https://247sports.com/college/michigan-state/
https://spartanswill.forumotion.com/

___________________

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Her Response:

Thank you so much. The girls will receive every penny of this fund. We feel loved and blessed...this outpouring of good helps a lot to cancel the evil we have seen firsthand. Please share our thank yous to all those good Spartans.

Can you share with me the significance of the odd amounts, for example the $114.63

Matthew and his dad had a bet for years, they called it the Bud bowl and each of them owed the other a dollar for a victory by their team. Since we are die hard West Virginia University fans, things were looking bleak this year for John. Sparty had to take second place to our Mountaineers in our hearts.

Again thank you all.

_____________

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

YES! So those are the inside jokes I referred to in the letter.

When Michigan State won the National Championship in Basketball in 2000, one of the final games of the regular season was an absolute drubbing of MSU's rival Michigan. The score was 114-63. It's a game that lives in Spartan lore.

Some others:
27-23 - the score against Michigan in football a couple years ago when Michigan had the game won, and then flubbed a punt that MSU returned for a touchdown.
38-14 - I'm not 100% on this one, but I think it's referring to the opening game of the 2010 season. The score was MSU 38, Western Michigan 14, and in that game LeVeon Bell, who would later become a star on the Steelers, broke the MSU single game rushing record for a freshman.
288.02 - This represents the inanity of internet culture. There was a ridiculous "math problem" that went around the internet a few years ago. It was poorly framed so that, depending on how you read it, your answer would come out either 288, or 2. There were long, really stupid arguments about this, but it was also kind of funny.

There are other strange numbers I can't figure out, but I'll pose it to the other guys. Matt would have gotten most, if not all of these references.

_______________________


Thanks again everyone. Peace. You know where to find me.

Thanks Roc.

Awesome work Roc.

Powerful. Well done.

This thread makes me smile.

Again, well done everyone.

Wonderful notes, Roc. Great job.

Great work, Roc. Really nice to know Matt's family is aware how many of us loved him.

She did respond to that last email by saying that “Matt would have loved” the references in the donations.

Not verbose at all, Roc. They were beautifully written notes that conveyed our feelings and Doc’s history here and his impact on us. You didn’t waste a single word; each one mattered. Thank you for writing them, and again for starting things rolling in the first place.

I was thinking of Matt's daughters earlier tonight when I saw App State was playing. I hope they have some loved ones to spend Christmas with. I hit the Google... And nothing really since last March on this tragedy. I guess there aren't really any live loose ends other than Matt's daughters. :(