A House For Mark
Donation protected
We want to help this young man whose life has been tragically affected, not just by one, but two fires.
Note: this campaign has just been featured in The Times Herald, follow this link which gives a much longer explanation, more photos, etc.
https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/local/port-huron/2018/05/01/house-mark-walnut-street/565531002/?csp=chromepush
THE BACKSTORY
On January 3, 2002, young Mark and his two preschool brothers, Justin and Ronald, were living at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Walnut Street, Port Huron, as their mother had fallen on hard times. Grandma (Mary Fuller) had been working at nearby Garfield Elementary School for 20 years. That morning a little boy walked to school with Grandma, not knowing his life would be forever changed. Mark's younger brothers, aged just 5 and 3, both perished in a fire on the upper floor of the home.
Afterwards, Grandpa Ken "Chuck" Fuller retired after 36 years with Mueller Brass so he could focus on raising young Mark. He petitioned the court for guardianship and won. Mark still feels sadness over the loss of his brothers and the small comfort was that the house was rebuilt and the family continued to live there. With Grandpa's mentorship and strong family values, Mark blossomed into a fine young man.
Sadly, Grandpa passed away from cancer in January 2008, exactly six years after the fire, and Grandma in 2015. Following in Grandpa's footsteps, after college Mark went to work for Mueller Brass. Tragedy struck again during a workplace accident where molten metal burned and melted part of Mark's lower face, gums and teeth. He needed immediate medical treatment and has chronic pain issues. Undeterred, Mark continues at Mueller Brass. Working near the fires has now triggered post-traumatic stress, due to his own injury and the fire that took the lives of the brothers he still loves so much.
In October 2017, Mark's dog passed away, and the stress triggered a PTSD disassociative seizure. He is still employed by Mueller Brass but had his duties reduced, and worries that the symptoms from his workplace injury may lead to being selectively laid off. He has been living in a home that's had no heat or running water for over a year. Mark has grown a beard since the accident, and although his pain medication is covered, Worker's Compensation Benefits has made no effort to have restorative facial and dental surgery done for him.
THE GOAL(S)
We (Duke Mills and Veronica Steele) are the current owners of Grandma and Grandpa's house. Our plan was only to stay in the home for three years, while Duke (a veteran with PTSD himself) was doing a rehabilitation program. Then sell the home and relocate to Canada, as Veronica is Canadian. We are now ready to do that.
When we moved in, we found toys under the stairs and made arrangements to get them to Mark, as we knew they would have sentimental value for him. We've had Mark over for dinner and hanging out, and consider him like family now. We admire his perseverance and tenacity. It is commendable to see him continue against adversity, even when his life seems bleak after losing his family members, and suffering a terrible workplace accident.
Because Mark feels a connection with this home and the spirit of his family is still felt here, we got the idea that we would try to see if there was a way we could offer him the house first. We could sell this home to anyone, but in our hearts we know this house belongs to Mark and his family. He has been working for 4 years and makes enough for mortgage payments. We decided that instead of using a realtor, we would give Mark the 6% we would have given a realtor and he could use that as a downpayment. But there are other costs, and we wanted to share his story, to see if other people, LIKE YOU, would be willing to help?
There are a few levels of financial goals for Mark we would love to see the community get behind, but any help, even non-financial or pro-bono services, would be greatly appreciated. To begin with we're setting the goal at $1500 to cover his costs and fees associated with transferring title and getting a mortgage.
However, if more is raised, here is how we plan on allocating any donations above this:
* increase downpayment to 20% to eliminate the extra cost of mortgage insurance
* increase downpayment until there is no mortgage needed
* pay for first year of property taxes
* furnish the home (he is a bachelor but shouldn't need to live like one)
* hiring a maxillofacial surgeon who specializes in traumatic dental injury and facial trauma
* purchase a new vehicle to get to and from his work at Mueller Brass (he's a pickup truck kinda guy)
* any house maintenance repairs (we've done A LOT to restore this house but there's some little stuff that still needs attention, like landscaping, some electrical, cement work, siding repairs and roofing in the near future)
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
---Team Mark
(Duke and Veronica)
Note: this campaign has just been featured in The Times Herald, follow this link which gives a much longer explanation, more photos, etc.
https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/local/port-huron/2018/05/01/house-mark-walnut-street/565531002/?csp=chromepush
THE BACKSTORY
On January 3, 2002, young Mark and his two preschool brothers, Justin and Ronald, were living at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Walnut Street, Port Huron, as their mother had fallen on hard times. Grandma (Mary Fuller) had been working at nearby Garfield Elementary School for 20 years. That morning a little boy walked to school with Grandma, not knowing his life would be forever changed. Mark's younger brothers, aged just 5 and 3, both perished in a fire on the upper floor of the home.
Afterwards, Grandpa Ken "Chuck" Fuller retired after 36 years with Mueller Brass so he could focus on raising young Mark. He petitioned the court for guardianship and won. Mark still feels sadness over the loss of his brothers and the small comfort was that the house was rebuilt and the family continued to live there. With Grandpa's mentorship and strong family values, Mark blossomed into a fine young man.
Sadly, Grandpa passed away from cancer in January 2008, exactly six years after the fire, and Grandma in 2015. Following in Grandpa's footsteps, after college Mark went to work for Mueller Brass. Tragedy struck again during a workplace accident where molten metal burned and melted part of Mark's lower face, gums and teeth. He needed immediate medical treatment and has chronic pain issues. Undeterred, Mark continues at Mueller Brass. Working near the fires has now triggered post-traumatic stress, due to his own injury and the fire that took the lives of the brothers he still loves so much.
In October 2017, Mark's dog passed away, and the stress triggered a PTSD disassociative seizure. He is still employed by Mueller Brass but had his duties reduced, and worries that the symptoms from his workplace injury may lead to being selectively laid off. He has been living in a home that's had no heat or running water for over a year. Mark has grown a beard since the accident, and although his pain medication is covered, Worker's Compensation Benefits has made no effort to have restorative facial and dental surgery done for him.
THE GOAL(S)
We (Duke Mills and Veronica Steele) are the current owners of Grandma and Grandpa's house. Our plan was only to stay in the home for three years, while Duke (a veteran with PTSD himself) was doing a rehabilitation program. Then sell the home and relocate to Canada, as Veronica is Canadian. We are now ready to do that.
When we moved in, we found toys under the stairs and made arrangements to get them to Mark, as we knew they would have sentimental value for him. We've had Mark over for dinner and hanging out, and consider him like family now. We admire his perseverance and tenacity. It is commendable to see him continue against adversity, even when his life seems bleak after losing his family members, and suffering a terrible workplace accident.
Because Mark feels a connection with this home and the spirit of his family is still felt here, we got the idea that we would try to see if there was a way we could offer him the house first. We could sell this home to anyone, but in our hearts we know this house belongs to Mark and his family. He has been working for 4 years and makes enough for mortgage payments. We decided that instead of using a realtor, we would give Mark the 6% we would have given a realtor and he could use that as a downpayment. But there are other costs, and we wanted to share his story, to see if other people, LIKE YOU, would be willing to help?
There are a few levels of financial goals for Mark we would love to see the community get behind, but any help, even non-financial or pro-bono services, would be greatly appreciated. To begin with we're setting the goal at $1500 to cover his costs and fees associated with transferring title and getting a mortgage.
However, if more is raised, here is how we plan on allocating any donations above this:
* increase downpayment to 20% to eliminate the extra cost of mortgage insurance
* increase downpayment until there is no mortgage needed
* pay for first year of property taxes
* furnish the home (he is a bachelor but shouldn't need to live like one)
* hiring a maxillofacial surgeon who specializes in traumatic dental injury and facial trauma
* purchase a new vehicle to get to and from his work at Mueller Brass (he's a pickup truck kinda guy)
* any house maintenance repairs (we've done A LOT to restore this house but there's some little stuff that still needs attention, like landscaping, some electrical, cement work, siding repairs and roofing in the near future)
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
---Team Mark
(Duke and Veronica)
Fundraising team: Team Mark (2)
Veronica Steele
Organizer
Port Huron, MI
Mark Holden
Beneficiary
Marion Mills
Team member
