FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Fresno woman who lost her son in a car accident last year is channeling her grief through a foundation she started to help others. 

“Frankly I didn’t know what I was going to do I thought I was going to die with him I was lost I was confused,” said Suzzette Kelley

Kelley’s world was shattered on January 10, 2022, when she received a phone call that her son Malik was killed in a car crash on Temperance and North Avenues in Fresno County. 

“He was just amazing,” said Kelley.

Malik left behind a three-year-old daughter and Kelley says it was hard to watch her granddaughter process the loss.

“She was upset too she wouldn’t speak nothing like that,” said Kelley.

One day Kelley was inspired to make a difference, after getting off the phone with her granddaughter. She quit her job as her nurse and went all in on the foundation.

“She called and said I need you and that’s when I knew I had to start something,” said Kelley.

For over a year Kelley has held the hands of more than 150 kids who have lost a parent.

The Blakeney Foundation assists the surviving parent with financial support and special events like spa days or even paying for a babysitter so they can have a night out.

For the kids, the foundation steps in as a parent by helping with things like back-to-school shopping and going to the movies or the water park.

Most recently Suzette took 80 kids to the movies, all out of her own pocket.

“Right now, it’s coming from me, and my husband’s credit cards were like maxed out,” said Kelley.

Kelly says all of the families she has helped have a special place in her heart, but the first stands out the most because it was her granddaughter and the baby’s mother. 

“That’s one of the biggest things I’m thankful for I don’t know where I would be without her,” said Ahansonie Herd mother of Kelley’s granddaughter.

Anyone who would like to donate or get involved with the Blakeney Foundation can visit their website.