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By BARTON PERKINS | Staff Writer

ALABASTER – At midnight on Sunday, June 18, Bronson Britnell was shot in the head.

“He’s spent the last three and a half months between UAB and Spain rehab,” said Christy Edmondson, a friend of the family. “He was released into the care of his mother a little while ago.”

A young man in his early 20s, Bronson now requires a great deal of care, including a wheelchair, hospital bed and myriad of physical therapies and future doctor visits. 

“His mom’s a single mother and hospital equipment and other bills stack up,” Edmondson said.

Edmondson has been a friend of the Britnell family for several years, having gone to Shelby County High School with Bronson’s mother, Heidi, back in 1996. Edmondson notes that the Britnells have made several fundraising efforts to try and help pay for Bronson’s care, including church fundraisers and a Facebook page, but even so, it’s been a struggle to care for Bronson properly.

“Heidi has just her mom and her sister to depend on, and she is struggling to keep up with Bronson’s care while finding time to take care of her other son and do all the necessary things a mom is expected to do,” Edmondson said. “She has to go back to work at some point, then begins to worry about who will care for Bronson while she is at work.  This family is struggling and needs all the help and support they can get. “

With that in mind, Unaltered MC and  Jim ‘N Nick’s  decided to come together and hold a benefit to try and raise money for Bronson’s care in collaboration with some of Heidi’s SCHS.

“It’s a motorcycle ride; other vehicles are welcome too,” Edmondson said. “It starts at Jim ‘N Nick’s, in Alabaster, and it’s going to go through Alabaster, Calera, Columbiana, Wilsonville and then back to Alabaster.”

The ride will take place on Sunday, Oct. 8, with registration starting at 9 a.m. The entry fee for the ride is $25 per bike and $30 with additional passengers. Additional donations are also accepted. The ride will start and end at the Alabaster Jim ‘N Nick’s.

“I want people to know how hard Bronson and his family work for others,” Edmondson said. “I want Bronson and his family to know that they’re loved. And that their community cares about them.”