Most of you know Jim Hendricksen (aka Crazy Jim or Cj). If you have spent any time here at all you’ll know him from his many build threads. He is a continuous source of help and information. I personally have done exactly one build thread on TRF, it’s shocking how much time it takes. Photographing, documenting, and posting take more time than actually building the dang thing. There is zero incentive to add that much time and effort to a project, but Jim does it over and over again, sharing his knowledge and experience with the community. I for one am better at this hobby because of his guidance.
Recently I was communicating with Jim here by private message. I wanted to order some more of his motor starters (this was my third or fourth order, I highly recommend them if you need any, Jim’s starters are fantastic). He was delayed in getting back to me due to some doctor’s appointments, and added some personal details that I knew nothing about and suspect most here don’t either. He had open heart surgery last April, and since then has lost 7 teeth due to the side effects of the post-op treatments. In his words, “Gonna have to spend $20,000 on my friggin teeth.” He has insurance on everything, except dental. Jim wasn’t even looking for sympathy when he shared this with me, in typical Cj fashion he just made a quip about growing old.
So, I just set up a GoFundMe page for Jim:
https://www.gofundme.com/crazy-jim-eats-bananas
To be clear, Jim had no idea I would do this, and I hope he’ll forgive me for broadcasting these personal details. I haven’t even met Jim in real life, but I’d like to help him with these massive medical expenses. The best part of rocketry is, well, the best part is the rockets of course. But the very next best is that our small hobby is really just one big family. I loved how we came together a few years ago to support Mark Hayes (Stickershock23) when his wife Marian was diagnosed with breast cancer. I hope you’ll join me in wishing Cj good health and recovery too, and show some gratitude for all that he has given our community over the years.
A few things to know about GoFundMe: I set the funding goal at $2,000 or 10% of Jim’s anticipated dental expenses. Unlike other crowdfunding sites like KickStarter which is more geared toward project creation, GoFundMe does not have a minimum threshold. On KickStarter if the funding goal is not met then the campaign is unsuccessful and no funds are collected. But if we fall short of the $2,000 goal on GoFundMe, whatever donations are pledged will still be collected and given to Jim. If we exceed the goal that is also perfectly fine, everything that is pledged will go to Jim. No minimum, no maximum, and no time limit. Also, GoFundMe charges no platform fees. The only fees that are assessed are the payment processing fees for the use of credit cards/PayPal etc. This fee is 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. So basically 97% of what you pledge will go directly to Jim.
We all know that Crazy Jim went bananas years ago.…but let’s make sure they aren’t the only things left that he can eat
Recently I was communicating with Jim here by private message. I wanted to order some more of his motor starters (this was my third or fourth order, I highly recommend them if you need any, Jim’s starters are fantastic). He was delayed in getting back to me due to some doctor’s appointments, and added some personal details that I knew nothing about and suspect most here don’t either. He had open heart surgery last April, and since then has lost 7 teeth due to the side effects of the post-op treatments. In his words, “Gonna have to spend $20,000 on my friggin teeth.” He has insurance on everything, except dental. Jim wasn’t even looking for sympathy when he shared this with me, in typical Cj fashion he just made a quip about growing old.
So, I just set up a GoFundMe page for Jim:
https://www.gofundme.com/crazy-jim-eats-bananas
To be clear, Jim had no idea I would do this, and I hope he’ll forgive me for broadcasting these personal details. I haven’t even met Jim in real life, but I’d like to help him with these massive medical expenses. The best part of rocketry is, well, the best part is the rockets of course. But the very next best is that our small hobby is really just one big family. I loved how we came together a few years ago to support Mark Hayes (Stickershock23) when his wife Marian was diagnosed with breast cancer. I hope you’ll join me in wishing Cj good health and recovery too, and show some gratitude for all that he has given our community over the years.
A few things to know about GoFundMe: I set the funding goal at $2,000 or 10% of Jim’s anticipated dental expenses. Unlike other crowdfunding sites like KickStarter which is more geared toward project creation, GoFundMe does not have a minimum threshold. On KickStarter if the funding goal is not met then the campaign is unsuccessful and no funds are collected. But if we fall short of the $2,000 goal on GoFundMe, whatever donations are pledged will still be collected and given to Jim. If we exceed the goal that is also perfectly fine, everything that is pledged will go to Jim. No minimum, no maximum, and no time limit. Also, GoFundMe charges no platform fees. The only fees that are assessed are the payment processing fees for the use of credit cards/PayPal etc. This fee is 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. So basically 97% of what you pledge will go directly to Jim.
We all know that Crazy Jim went bananas years ago.…but let’s make sure they aren’t the only things left that he can eat
Last edited: