Help the Laychuk's Fix Their Home
Donation protected
Derrick and Jolene Laychuk moved to Fort St. John approximately 10 years ago. In that time, these teachers have dedicated an exceptional amount of time to becoming some of the best, most influential teachers at North Peace Secondary School. Always putting the students first, these two have often been seen at extra curricular activities and are always prepared to show their support for the growth of the students within the community. It is in this manner that they became an integral part of North Peace. When the time was right, Derrick began coaching the Sr Boys' Basketball team, touring with the boys and often missing weekends from home during the regular season.
What truly makes the Laychuk's special, however, is their dedication to not only the children of Fort St. John, but to the children of the world. For years, Derrick and Jolene have been involved in taking local students down to developing countries to build orphanages and schools for orphaned children from around the world. They are so dedicated to this cause that Derrick has missed Christmas with his own family for the past few years.
In this time period, Derrick formed Visions of Change-a Non Profit Society to support the living costs and improvement of Royal Seed orphanage in Ghana, West Africa. It was formed on the premise that young people can help change the world by putting in hard work and sharing the world's wealth evenly across the globe. Around forty students a year worked year round to fundraise for the orphanage, then traveled there for three weeks to assist with the building of classrooms.
But Derrick and Jolene didn't stop there. They wanted to do more to completely change the life of even one child from the orphanage. Derrick actually had Madame Naomi (the headmistress of the orphanage) pick a child who would best acclimatize to Canada, and would get a lot out of the love and support they offered. He refused to pick a child himself, but once Naomi chose Rennie, Derrick knew she was the one too. Enduring two years of waiting, paperwork, bureaucracy, and financial expense, Derrick and Jolene adopted Rennie. Both travelled together to Ghana where, for the very first time, Jolene met the child she already loved as her own. Finally, they brought her to Canada as her parents, offering her a chance to grow into full adulthood and meet her potential with opportunities unavailable to her in Ghana.
Recently, Derrick and Jolene purchased a new-to-them home. They sold their old home and were excited to start a new life in the country with their children Ethan and Rennie surrounded by the beauty of nature. Their excitement turned to horror as their "fully renovated" house quickly showed its dilapidated and unsafe nature as a leaky roof turned into a rotten roof, and their basement flooded which often results in the potentially health damaging mould. While they got the flooding under control, they were left with little choice but to completely replace the roof. These generous people began to realize that they had purchased a house with many problems that they were unaware of.
People of Fort St. John know how hard it can be to find a contractor due to the explosion of new property development in town. Derrick and Jolene had to import one from Saskatchewan who seemed up to the task of tackling such a large project. Things started as well as any massive construction project can, but then the contractor started taking more and more time off of the job. He even began taking time off to do a different job while being paid on a weekly basis by Derrick and Jolene. Most of the joists of the roof were raised up, and the contractor left to take care of "other business." He has not been seen since and has been paid up to the time he worked. He even owes the Laychuk's a week's worth of work for time that he and his crew took off in the middle of the job. Now, he's not returning calls, not communicating, and there is doubt as to whether or not he will ever come back. Other contractors have come to take a look at finishing the job, but the expense is beyond Derrick and Jolene's budget. Now, they fear that bankruptcy is their only hope.
The question that we are left with is this: how can we, who have been so blessed with the constant support and kindness from such great people, help them? It's time for the community and those who have learned so much from Derrick and Jolene to show them just how much they've done to help others grow and benefit from the experiences provided by these teachers by supporting their family in this time of need.
Please help in any way you can, by offering financial support and sharing this campaign. If you wish to provide material help and support, please contact Alexis Redenbach, or the Laychuk's directly.
What truly makes the Laychuk's special, however, is their dedication to not only the children of Fort St. John, but to the children of the world. For years, Derrick and Jolene have been involved in taking local students down to developing countries to build orphanages and schools for orphaned children from around the world. They are so dedicated to this cause that Derrick has missed Christmas with his own family for the past few years.
In this time period, Derrick formed Visions of Change-a Non Profit Society to support the living costs and improvement of Royal Seed orphanage in Ghana, West Africa. It was formed on the premise that young people can help change the world by putting in hard work and sharing the world's wealth evenly across the globe. Around forty students a year worked year round to fundraise for the orphanage, then traveled there for three weeks to assist with the building of classrooms.
But Derrick and Jolene didn't stop there. They wanted to do more to completely change the life of even one child from the orphanage. Derrick actually had Madame Naomi (the headmistress of the orphanage) pick a child who would best acclimatize to Canada, and would get a lot out of the love and support they offered. He refused to pick a child himself, but once Naomi chose Rennie, Derrick knew she was the one too. Enduring two years of waiting, paperwork, bureaucracy, and financial expense, Derrick and Jolene adopted Rennie. Both travelled together to Ghana where, for the very first time, Jolene met the child she already loved as her own. Finally, they brought her to Canada as her parents, offering her a chance to grow into full adulthood and meet her potential with opportunities unavailable to her in Ghana.
Recently, Derrick and Jolene purchased a new-to-them home. They sold their old home and were excited to start a new life in the country with their children Ethan and Rennie surrounded by the beauty of nature. Their excitement turned to horror as their "fully renovated" house quickly showed its dilapidated and unsafe nature as a leaky roof turned into a rotten roof, and their basement flooded which often results in the potentially health damaging mould. While they got the flooding under control, they were left with little choice but to completely replace the roof. These generous people began to realize that they had purchased a house with many problems that they were unaware of.
People of Fort St. John know how hard it can be to find a contractor due to the explosion of new property development in town. Derrick and Jolene had to import one from Saskatchewan who seemed up to the task of tackling such a large project. Things started as well as any massive construction project can, but then the contractor started taking more and more time off of the job. He even began taking time off to do a different job while being paid on a weekly basis by Derrick and Jolene. Most of the joists of the roof were raised up, and the contractor left to take care of "other business." He has not been seen since and has been paid up to the time he worked. He even owes the Laychuk's a week's worth of work for time that he and his crew took off in the middle of the job. Now, he's not returning calls, not communicating, and there is doubt as to whether or not he will ever come back. Other contractors have come to take a look at finishing the job, but the expense is beyond Derrick and Jolene's budget. Now, they fear that bankruptcy is their only hope.
The question that we are left with is this: how can we, who have been so blessed with the constant support and kindness from such great people, help them? It's time for the community and those who have learned so much from Derrick and Jolene to show them just how much they've done to help others grow and benefit from the experiences provided by these teachers by supporting their family in this time of need.
Please help in any way you can, by offering financial support and sharing this campaign. If you wish to provide material help and support, please contact Alexis Redenbach, or the Laychuk's directly.
Organizer
Alexis Jade Redenbach
Organizer
Fort Saint John, BC
