Middlebrooks family donates to three Lorain students in need

LORAIN — Barb Middlebrooks knows her daughter would be proud of her. Sitting in a conference room at Lorain High School, she remembers her daughter's infectious smile and how she would help anyone she could. Crystal Middlebrooks, 48, was a Southview High graduate, working from Burger King at 16 to a high-level job with Cracker Barrel. She won the restaurant's "Uncle Herschel Award," given annually to an outstanding employee throughout the company. Through her career, Crystal had excelled at giving, her mother said. After noticing an employee at Cracker Barrel was sleeping in their car with their family, she put them up in a hotel, Barb Middlebrooks said. "I told her one time, 'You're doing too much.' No she wasn't. God had a plan," Barb Middlebrooks said. She'd recently started a new job with Panera Bread as the area operating partner, traveling from her home in Michigan to training in Phoenix, Arizona. On Feb. 28, 2020, Barb Middlebrooks' world turned upside down. She'd talked to Crystal that morning. That afternoon, she was on a flight to say goodbye to her child. Crystal died of a sudden illness, her mother said. Now, Middlebrooks is hoping to pass on her daughter's legacy of kindness. "She was on a mission and we will continue that mission," Middlebrooks said. In 2020, she gave out about 50 grocery gift cards for $50 each. In 2021, that number rose to more than 60 cards for $50 to $75 each. This year she also donated to the 411 Foundation, which helps disabled children in Franklin County, and gave funds to founder Sean Patterson to feed families in Stubenville — Barb Middlebrooks' hometown. Lastly, she expanded efforts to include three Lorain Schools families. With help from School Resource Officer Miguel Baez, three students were selected to get $200 each. "Crystal was phenomenal. We're talking about a person who would give anything to anyone. She was definitely a person that didn't have children but everybody was her kid," Baez said, a close friend of the Middlebrooks family. "She was the kind of person you could call at 2 a.m. and she was there to listen and give you advice." When tasked with finding three families, he said he looked for students doing well in school whose families also needed the funds, he said. On Wednesday, Jazzarae Danks, 11, a sixth grader at Southview Middle School, and Ny'Asha Davila, 16, a junior at Lorain High, received envelopes with $200 each. The third student, Christopher Roth, 14, a seventh grader at Longfellow, was unable to attend. Ny'Asha and Jazzarae thanked Barb Middlebrooks for her generosity, offering their condolences for her loss. "It's about helping someone, make something of yourself, give somebody a hug and let them know that things will be OK and you never know when you'll be blessed," Middlebrooks said. "You thank me, but I thank you. Because this is my healing." Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.