Group hopes to bring grandchildren for a final visit

NEWMAN – Friends of a gravely ill Newman woman are rallying community support to bring three of her grandchildren – including one she has never seen – from Illinois to California for a final visit.

The woman, Bonnie Arnel, is just 52 years of age but suffers from a heart condition which has left her with a grim prognosis, said her friends Diane Roberts and Renee Kimball.

They are among those organizing a campaign to bring Arnel’s grandchildren and their mother to California for a visit.

“She has five grandchildren, including three in Illinois (one who Arnel has never met) and two in Nevada,” Roberts and Kimball explained Monday. “The ones in Nevada will be able to come for a visit without help, but we are trying to raise money to bring the three out from Illinois. We want to help her see her grandchildren.”

The friends are trying to arrange the trip before the end of June.

They are working toward all possible avenues. An application for assistance is pending with an organization called Dream Foundation. If fully approved, the group could fund as many as three tickets.

The group, through a mutual friend, has also made contact with employees of a small airline which flies out of the Midwest, and has tickets available at a discounted rate of $1,000 round-trip for the group.

A car wash will be held Saturday from noon. to 4 p.m. at Burger King in Newman. In addition to Arnel’s friends, some members of Scout Troop 80 will be participating.

Community members can donate directly to an account set up at Bank of the West in the name of Friends of Bonnie Arnel.

Donations of airline miles are also welcome, the group said.

Once a successful businesswoman, Roberts said, Arnel and her family have fallen on difficult times since her illness.

“She is such a sweet woman,” Roberts reflected. “This is nothing that she wouldn’t do to help somebody else. We can’t just stand by and do nothing to help her.”

Arnel’s husband Charles is a familiar figure to many in the community as a Santa Claus at schools and special events.

The family is facing other challenges as well.

The air conditioning in their home is not functioning, Roberts said, and they are not able to pay for the necessary repairs.

“The heat is extremely stressful on her,” she stated.

Community members interested in volunteering time or contributing to the effort to help the family may contact Roberts, 862-9808, Kimball, 862-1019, or Cathy Woodruff, 862-1046.