A Lifetime of Giving — Now She Needs Us”

A Lifetime of Giving … Now She Needs Us

My mom’s home was just destroyed in a fire

It’s heartbreaking to even write that sentence.

This was the same home she bought sight-unseen back in the early ’90s because that’s what she could afford. She was a single mom with three kids and did the best she could. I was one year old. My mom poured herself into making that 1972 trailer the best home possible for us kids. And even to this day her grandkids have called it home too. Generations of memories…

Now, over 30 years later, she’s lost everything.

When I pulled up to my childhood home yesterday, I saw my mom out in the yard, putting up a tent. That was her solution. Not because she didn’t have other options, but because she refuses to be a burden to anyone. Even now. Even after a total loss.

She’s always done everything alone. Never had a partner to help carry the load. She’s never been married. Not because she didn’t have the chance. My dad proposed once, and I remember her telling him, “Get your debt under control first.” That’s who she is… sharp, practical, and fiercely independent.

My mom put herself through college for criminal justice but never got to use that degree. She had to take whatever jobs she could, working two or three at a time while raising us. She raised me and my two brothers by herself. All three of our dads passed away at different times. She never caught a break. She just pushed through.

In 2020, I remember her driving by The Home Boys to look at her dream home — Model #8. She loved that home. She’d save five-dollar bills when she could and called it her “home fund.” She’d daydream out loud about little upgrades she’d make… not big luxury things, just small touches that would make it hers.

Then came the job loss. Then the pandemic. Then the home’s price skyrocketed to over $200,000. It was discontinued. She never cried, but I saw it in her face: the hope just left.

She kept going anyway.

She stayed in that aging 1972 trailer, even as mold made her sick. She gave her savings to help us kids instead of fixing the house. She helped me after I lost my fiancé in 2022.

That kind of loss could’ve broken me — honestly, I think it almost did. But she showed up without hesitation. She stayed with me for weeks, sleeping on my couch, holding things together in the quiet moments when I couldn’t. And she didn’t leave until, as a mother, she felt I was strong enough to be without her.

Last Christmas, she said she had the perfect gift for us.

She was so proud to share she’d bought life insurance …. just enough to cover her burial. She wanted to make sure we wouldn’t have to worry about the cost if something happened to her. That was her idea of a perfect gift: peace of mind for us, not for her.

But I don’t want her thinking about funerals.

I want her to live. Really live.

She deserves warmth. Safety. Dignity. A clean home. A space to finally breathe and know she’s supported.

If you’ve ever known a woman like that, one who gives everything and asks for nothing; this is your chance to help someone who truly deserves it.

️ Funds will go toward:

• Safe housing & basic essentials

• Demolition & removal of the burned home

• Prepping the land for a rebuild

• And giving her one chance to finally catch a break

Even $5 makes a difference. If you can’t donate, please just share this.

She’d never ask for help…. so I’m doing it for her.

With love and endless gratitude,

Brandy