The Birge Family Flood Relief Fund
Donation protected
My co-worker and friend, David Birge and his wife Michelle were among the many victims of the devastating floods in Columbia, SC last week. They woke up that Sunday morning at 4am to find 2-3 feet of water in every room of their home. It is not an exaggeration to say that they have lost virtually everything. Like many of the people who have incurred huge losses from this disaster, they do not live in a flood plain, and were not insured for such a freak event. Their losses, and the costs of recovery are totally overwhelming. They need a lot of help.
What David and Michelle are facing is both financially and emotionally crippling. But they are people of deep faith. Through their trust in God, and the support of their church, family and friends, they are pushing forward and trying desperately to save what's left of their home.
In hopes of saving what they can, they spent all of last week demo-ing the inside of their home with help from some incredible volunteers from their church. Everything is gone...the floors, the walls, the duct work, the cabinets...everything. They worked 20 hours a day and barely slept.
And of course they lost also lost all their furniture and many treasured possesions to the water. Now they are in a race against the clock to stop the spread of black mold on what is left, and to get it the structure dry so they can rebuild. No water restoration or salvage companies are available to help them. They've had to buy their own equipment and work night and day with those wonderful church volunteers to try to do it themselves.
This used to be a kitchen.
It is going to take more than just work for them to save their home. It's going to take a lot of money. David is one of the most generous people I know. He has an enourmous heart. In addition to tithing and volunteering a lot of time to his church, every month for years he has also donated money to The Wounded Warrior Project, Pawmetto Lifeline, St. Judes Childrens Hopsital, and the Shriners Children's hospital. For the last 4 years I have watched him volunteer as a Big Brother for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program. And I've witnessed his dedication to animals, serving on the board of Pawmetto Lifeline which saves the lives of sheltered animals scheduled to be euthanized. In fact, David and Michelle love animals so much they have a family of rescue dogs that they continue to care for, even though they now have nothing themselves.
My friend David has spent years helping other people. Out of a desire to do good in this world, he gives more generously of his time and money than almost anyone I know. And he has never once expected anything thing in return. Now that he's the one in need, I hope people will be as generous to him as he has been to others. He would never start this page for himself, but as David's friend and co-worker I was able to convince him to let me create it to help him. Any donation you can give, large or small is deeply appreciated. 100% of the money raised will go directly to David to help his family recover from this terrible loss and hopefully rebuild their home. Thank you so much for helping them.
-Shelley Magee
What David and Michelle are facing is both financially and emotionally crippling. But they are people of deep faith. Through their trust in God, and the support of their church, family and friends, they are pushing forward and trying desperately to save what's left of their home.
In hopes of saving what they can, they spent all of last week demo-ing the inside of their home with help from some incredible volunteers from their church. Everything is gone...the floors, the walls, the duct work, the cabinets...everything. They worked 20 hours a day and barely slept.
And of course they lost also lost all their furniture and many treasured possesions to the water. Now they are in a race against the clock to stop the spread of black mold on what is left, and to get it the structure dry so they can rebuild. No water restoration or salvage companies are available to help them. They've had to buy their own equipment and work night and day with those wonderful church volunteers to try to do it themselves.
This used to be a kitchen.
It is going to take more than just work for them to save their home. It's going to take a lot of money. David is one of the most generous people I know. He has an enourmous heart. In addition to tithing and volunteering a lot of time to his church, every month for years he has also donated money to The Wounded Warrior Project, Pawmetto Lifeline, St. Judes Childrens Hopsital, and the Shriners Children's hospital. For the last 4 years I have watched him volunteer as a Big Brother for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program. And I've witnessed his dedication to animals, serving on the board of Pawmetto Lifeline which saves the lives of sheltered animals scheduled to be euthanized. In fact, David and Michelle love animals so much they have a family of rescue dogs that they continue to care for, even though they now have nothing themselves.
My friend David has spent years helping other people. Out of a desire to do good in this world, he gives more generously of his time and money than almost anyone I know. And he has never once expected anything thing in return. Now that he's the one in need, I hope people will be as generous to him as he has been to others. He would never start this page for himself, but as David's friend and co-worker I was able to convince him to let me create it to help him. Any donation you can give, large or small is deeply appreciated. 100% of the money raised will go directly to David to help his family recover from this terrible loss and hopefully rebuild their home. Thank you so much for helping them.
-Shelley Magee
Organizer and beneficiary
Shelley Magee
Organizer
Columbia, SC
David Birge
Beneficiary