Save Ali's Home
IMAGINE waking-up to a new Government who rules by persecution. Who will remove your children from their home, and take them into the army.
Imagine the ONLY way to freedom is to leave in the clothes you stand up in.
Imagine getting to the airport and being told YOU (the parent) cannot leave................but your children can.
IMAGINE the gut-wrenching, screaming heartbreak as you watch your own children, aged 6, 9 and 15, board a plane to be cared for by people you have never met, not knowing if you would ever see them again.
Imagine the FEAR that would cause you to take such action!
That is the agonizing decision made by Ali Rodriguez's mother to free her children from Castro's Communist Cuba in 1962.
At age 15, Ali became “parent” to her younger sisters when they left Cuba for Miami, Florida, as part of the unaccompanied children Pedro Pan Program. Within a month of arrival, the Program wanted to split the young family and send Ali’s 2 sisters to different States. Ali fought to keep them together and, instead, all 3 were sent to an orphanage. This was not a happy place for the 3 girls, without their Mother in a strange country, where they had to learn a new language to survive.
Finally, the news came that their Mother was in Miami. After 6 months of heartache, the Mother and Daughters were reunited, but they were all much changed by their experiences.
Ali took odd jobs day and night to help support her family, yet managed to stay on at school. She was not able to fulfil her dream of attending Medical School. However, after 14 years working in the medical field, Ali created a successful medical transcription business, and has been self-supporting all her working life.
The struggle of her early years, and the childhood she lost, has never been forgotten as Ali strives to bring inspiration, motivation and transformation to the lives of others. She has guided many through difficult challenges and, in particular, she supports vulnerable young women from all backgrounds through her pro-bono mentoring program. That is Ali’s way of giving back to the Universe.
Ali's joy is to watch their growth and transformation, and to know that her heart-breaking journey from Cuba was worth it.
Fulfilling her desire to help young people overcome their challenges, Ali worked tirelessly as a volunteer on the Board of the PACE Center for Girls, of Volusia and Flagler counties, from 2001 to 2010. PACE stands for Practical, Academic, and Cultural Education, and is a non-residential, year-round school program, providing girls aged 12 through 18 support and understanding through education.
These girls did not escape from Cuba, but Ali felt an empathy with each one of them because they, too, were escaping persecution……..from drugs, bad company, poor parenting, mis-guided siblings, and even incarceration. They gained their freedom through education, with the love and support of great people.
Being in the service of others for 35 years has defined Ali’s destiny. In 2005, she started a small enterprise offering life and business coaching, and continued doing what she loves best: helping people.
Then came the Great Recession of 2008! Life coaching was no longer a priority for the majority of Ali's clients and her income plummeted. Ali took her social security early and, thinking the Recession would turn around quickly, Ali used her savings and leaned on credit cards to make up each monthly shortfall. As the Recession continued, she sold her jewelry and most of her furniture to raise money, but she fell behind on her mortgage. That was when I met Ali.
My name is Toni Ledgerwood and I am a Florida Realtor. I met Ali when she hired me to sell her house, which I did in 2014. Ali managed to pay-off her mortgage and, so, avoided foreclosure. I found her an apartment, and she was able to pay her rent and her bills with her social security money, plus the earnings of one ongoing loyal client, and the occasional one-off coaching session. Living alone and self-sufficient again, Ali was thankful for her new beginning.
So, why am I asking you to help Ali?
Ali gives of herself every day. She treats everyone she meets like a loved friend. I have witnessed those that she meets, even for a moment, transform as she engages with them. They smile and their eyes light up, and they hold themselves taller and more assured.
Ali gives pro-bono life-coaching to those who cannot pay and who are struggling. She makes a difference wherever she goes, to whoever she meets. Ali has made a difference in my life. She has taught me how to value myself, and how to listen to, and trust my intuition.
Ali does not complain. She faces her own personal trials and tribulations head on, with fortitude and grace, and HAS A SMILE (still) for everyone she meets.
For all these reasons, and more, I want to help her.
Ali’s health has been deteriorating. You would not know it to look at her…always smiling and making people laugh, but she can walk only a short distance, due to arthritic feet and poor tendons on both legs. She has recently been suffering pain from other medical issues, which the doctors will be able to diagnose and treat, if she can raise funds to pay for the tests and treatment.
Coinciding with her latest medical issue, Ali’s lease came to an end. Rents have increased so much since 2014, but Ali managed to find a safe place to rent, within her budget. While packing for her move, Ali tripped over a floor rug. Her face took the full force of the fall. She bashed her cheek bone, tore up her lip and broke her nose, resulting in ENT treatment. Ali battled on and she moved into her new rental home during May 2017.
As if her fall, her move, her medical issues are not enough to deal with, Ali’s one ongoing client was the victim of a head-on traffic collision. In the blink of an eye, Ali's life was changed. Our hearts go out to Ali’s client who is suffering cognitive issues and under-going therapy. The Client is able to keep her business running, but is not able to continue Ali’s coaching services due to her injuries, and Ali’s main source of income is gone.
The Client’s recovery will take an unknown time and, despite Ali coming up with a monthly budget for essentials only, and the use of all of her (now) meagre savings, Ali will be out of money and facing eviction by the end of September. Her social security income will not even cover her rent.
Ali asked me “Where did I go wrong?”, and that broke my heart because this beautiful, warm and loving lady is a GIVER, and her circumstances are so unfair.
Ali has SO MUCH to offer those who would engage her, despite being in her senior years. Yet, after spending her life helping others through difficult times, she now finds herself in a precarious financial situation. My husband and I have paid to have her car repaired so she has transport to go out and network in an effort to find new clients. However, that will take time and ALI NEEDS HELP NOW.
PLEASE DONATE to keep the roof over her head, food in her belly and so she can get the medical attention she needs.
One moment can change a life,
One donation can make a difference!
Your donation will be used to pay Ali’s rent, electric and water bill, for food, for medicine and medical bills. If Ali can pay those things to the end of her lease, it will buy her time to find new clients.
Your donation will help keep Ali’s car going, so that she can go out and network to find new clients. Your donation will maintain the basic infrastructure of her business, which she needs to service the new clients she will find.
Your donation will allow her to hold on to what she has now, while giving her the time, and the ability to secure a new income stream.
Thank you SO much for taking time to read Ali’s Story, and for supporting my efforts to help this amazing lady.
Please help Ali and she will continue to help others.
PLEASE DONATE.
I will answer any questions you may have, and I am sharing below testimonials from people Ali has helped over the years.
Testimonials:
“I am very grateful for Ali’s warm, assertive and powerful guidance and for the way she intuitively knows how to enlighten my path……. When I needed encouragement she was there, friendly and supportive…………. Ali Rodriguez is candid, straight-forward and loving…….. She always walks the extra mile and makes me feel good about myself.” Mercedes Calcano, Alabama
Please walk the extra mile for Ali.
$25 would make such a difference.
“It’s really incredible how my life changed when I met Ali Rodriguez………. It was a rough period in my life…... But Ali knew how to make me laugh and heal all while honoring the internal pain…... She helped me ……see the why of things and …… my life really changed a lot since then.” Tatiana Nikolic, Marbella, Spain
Please GIVE.
So that Ali can continue to help people heal.
“Dear Ali, I watched you run a large transcription company in Miami, handling everything and everyone flawlessly…………….. You were the major cheerleader for every employee, for every client, for the boss, and for the neighborhood (I’m not kidding)…….. What an inspiration you were for me, and how helpful you have been throughout my life!” Maggie Glasgow PhD
Be a Cheerleader for Ali
Please donate. Pocket change welcome.
“I was blown away by Ali’s creative approach. She is passionate about helping new businesses and I was lucky enough to be one of her many generous projects.” Katia Guzhva, Ormond Beach, FL
Please be generous to help Ali be generous to others.
Please GIVE.
“…. Ali is one tough cookie but she has the compassion like none other. I just wanted everyone else to know that she is an asset to any business, and she is a really great person to know. She oozes with passion and love and would do most anything to help you achieve your goals.” Gail Halfhill, Ormond Beach, FL
Please help Ali achieve her goals.
$50 would be AMAZING!
“Intuitive, passionate, resourceful, bold. These are just a few words that describe Ali and her fabulous energy. I think I QUANTUM LEAPED. She really touched my heart and soul………..” Tuck Self, CEO, SC
Please touch Ali’s heart and soul.
GIVE TODAY.
“Ali…. the word that comes to mind today about you is ‘goodness’. I felt so much goodness from you today and I am deeply grateful to have been the recipient once again of your kindness and wisdom.” Lynne Cohen, PA
Please give Ali some ‘goodness’.
With your DONATION TODAY.
“Ali, my friend, ….. I want so much to thank you for all the time and caring you have given to me. With your guidance I have been able to find the solutions that I have been looking for. I’m so happy you are in my life.”
Pam Gow, Las Vegas, Nevada
Be part of Ali's life.
PLEASE DONATE.
“You Ali, are one of the people that has had a tremendous impact on me. ….you were one of my very first customers. You began right away giving me tips …., reaching out to me with information and encouragement, and all because you believed in me and my abilities. You had nothing to gain from this….....You showed me how to look beyond …. with a strong and proud attitude. You have a way Ali of showing people that they can do anything they set their minds to do, ….. And you do all this with such joy, enthusiasm, and energy, and this sure does rub off on those around you…….” Bonnie White, Ormond Beach, FL
Please impact Ali’s life.
Piggy Bank contents would be wonderful!
“Ali Rodriguez is the one………… When she identifies a problem she tackles it with her heart and soul and persists until a satisfactory solution has been reached.” Marilyn Lavelle, Maine
Ali’s heart will be full and her soul will sing
When you DONATE TODAY.
Ali has taught me how to value myself, how to listen to, and trust my intuition, and how to get out of my own way. Do I follow that direction without fail? No, I’m human! I err, and sometimes slip back into my old ways …. BUT, 1 email from Ali, or 1 phone call from Ali, or 1 meeting with Ali, and I kick my butt right back onto MY OWN path of Truth and Trust.
Please give so that Ali may continue to help others.
Every little helps!
YOU HAVE MY HEARTFELT THANKS FOR READING THIS FAR, and for helping me raise funds for this BEAUTIFUL lady.
Toni Ledgerwood, Port Orange, FL
