Hi. I am seeking financial assistance for my cousin and his family following a house fire that gutted their new Iowa farm home just after the holidays on January 7th, 2024. The devastation came at a particularly challenging time as they had just purchased the home (sight unseen from Alaska) with their life savings, after a long struggle to find a forever home! Now they are trying to pay for interim housing during renovation (projected to take 6 months) as well as replacement of their belongings—clothing and furniture, etc.

For 10 years they lived in Alaska and tried to find a home they could afford, but cost of living and real estate prices skyrocketed. Their dreams of their own home in their beloved Alaska died and were replaced with a new dream—returning to country life in the mid-west.

After many years of searching, they finally found and committed to purchasing the perfect quaint farmhouse in the middle of corn country in Iowa! They drove the arduous Alaska Highway to arrive in Iowa just in the nick of time to close on the new home in September 2023.

But sadly, shortly after their first holiday in their Iowa home, the unimaginable happened! The house caught fire, destroying the kitchen and the appliances. But worse yet, it filled the whole house with black, greasy smoke that ruined all of their clothing, their new and old furniture and the whole of the insides and even insulation of their new farm home! Although they are grateful that no one was injured, not even the dog, their dreams have been crushed by financial and emotional devastation. Although the house itself was insured, which will help as they rebuild, none of their damaged belongings were insured!

Spencer and Amy and their son continue work and school and efforts to maintain their lives while they pay for temporary rentals, living day-to-day, facing the frightening and costly process of recovery.

Please step up to help them!! Any and all donations are greatly appreciated. As Spencer and Amy had already spent their savings on the move and their now uninhabitable farm home, they need our help to rebuild their home, to recover and renew their belongings and start over, again.

Thank you for listening and caring! We are so grateful for a caring community!