MASHPEE, Mass. — Lauren Fulone is gone, but her memory lives on.
“As a dad I always thought my job was to make sure she isn’t forgotten,” Lauren’s father, John Fulone, said.
Lauren was 19-years-old when she died in a car crash on her way to work, just a mile from her Mashpee home, on a rainy Monday morning in August 2011.
Lauren was about to enter her sophomore year at Tulane University.
“She was the glue that held the family together. Her brothers were afraid of her even though she was the youngest, so if they were going to do something, probably not the wisest choice,” said Sharon Fulone, Lauren’s mother.
To celebrate their daughter’s life and carry on her legacy, John and Sharon Fulone established The Goosey Fund in Lauren’s memory.
Goosey was Lauren’s nickname.
“After she died, we learned from a variety of people that she was known for randomly picking-up a check for people. A cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts. Things like that. Not big money, but big impact,” John Fulone said.
The Goosey Fund encourages random acts of kindness by paying it forward.
The Fulone’s designed plastic “You’ve Been Goosed” cards.
Each one is a $10 donation.
There are more than 5,000 cards in circulation.
“We’ve had people write about not having enough money, taking extra shifts to pay for their son to go to prom and someone left a $100 tip with a Goosey Card, that was a great story,” Sharon Fulone said.
The You’ve Been Goosed acts of kindness don’t need to be extravagant.
Her parents said sometimes the littlest things have the biggest impact and are the perfect tribute to Lauren’s spirit.
“The fact that she’s not forgotten, and in fact, there’s a whole bunch of people that know her now that didn’t know her when she was with us physically is pretty cool and it means a lot as her dad. It means a lot,” John Fulone said.
The Goosey Fund also awards an annual scholarship to a graduating student from Lauren’s high school in Mashpee.
To date, they’ve awarded 11 scholarships in Lauren’s name.
If you have a Positively Massachusetts story idea, contact Boston25 anchor Chris Flanagan at PositivelyMA@Boston25.com.