Bob Rice`s House Fire Fund Raiser
On December 2nd a fire erupted at my brother Bob Rice`s house. Bob has Cerbral Palsy and was waiting for the Transit Bus to take him home from work when he got the call that the house was deemed a total loss. He had no rental insurance. Bob was left with only the clothes he wore to work that day. Due to the generousity of friends and family he has received donations of clothing, and from the initial Red Cross assistance, we were able to get him into a motel close to his job, as he was worried about getting to work each day as he has done his entire adult life.
Bob has always lived at home with mom and when mom died four years ago the landlord let him stay rather then move him, which allowed my mom`s belongings to stay in the home. The fire destroyed all of our mother`s belongings and what was also left of her memories that we had too. That is also upsetting as well. My sister lived with Bob but will have her own Go Fund Me as she will be finding her own housing.
Bob has Cerebral Palsy, and suffers from Celiac Disease. He had corrective surgery a year and a half ago to straighten his left foot which due to the years of pushing shopping carts, it had turned inside so surgery corrected that issue, and he still went back to doing the same job instead of giving up. He gets NO disability assistance. He gets NO Governement assistance of any kind. He makes right above minimum wage working at Shop N Save on Dirksen Parkway in Springfield,Illinois as a Courtesy Clerk, pushing shopping carts in whatever weather mother nature might deal him that day. He has worked there for 10 years. He was hit by a car in the parking lot last year and still went right back to work after a week off wearing a neck brace. If you ask anyone what they know about Bob, they will tell you "He is always smiling."
Prior to working at Shop N Save Bob was on SSI, but with the help of UCP he went to work at Jewel bagging groceries and pushing shopping carts until he could do it on his own. He stopped his disability because he refused to be called disabled after being made fun of and mocked on his body movements. He worked there for 17 years until they closed, then went to Shop N Save and obtained employment independently.
Bob needs help to get into his own place and to furnish it with what he needs. Bob has never asked anyone for anything and really doesn`t know how. All of this is hard for him to accept and he is still in shock over losing everything he has worked for. He didn`t have much but what he had he worked his butt off to get literally, and it is hard for me to ask for him. I so wish I could do it all for him but I`m not able to do so and it`s so hard to ask for help. Any financial help for him I know he would so appreciate.
