Ceasar & Diana Flood Recovery Fund

On November 6th, my family and I left our townhome for work and school at 7:45am. I returned home about 3:30pm to find a pipe had busted in our upstairs bathroom.

The water had been flowing continuously (an estimated) 6-7 hours, flooding the upstairs bathroom, laundry room, kids' room, guest room, and hallway. It flowed through the floor, then through the ceiling to the main level, finding its way in almost every light fixture and through the walls, with about an inch and a half of standing water in the living room, hallway, and kitchen. It continued down the hardwood floors, air vents, and any gaps, into the basement where another inch and a half of water collected on the floor. A large amount of clothing and books were soaked on the upper level. All of our household goods (couches, tables, rugs, chairs, kid toys, papers, etc.) on the main level were waterlogged and destroyed. In the basement, all of the kids' toys were destroyed as well as our storage items and family items containing things like Christmas decorations, other holiday decorations, and sentimental items.

Yes, we had rental insurance. However (and I'm finding out lots of other people are in the same boat) we never increased our coverage as our home, then family, grew. It was our mistake. We also didn't consider things like cleaning, moving, storing, and eventual return of our salvageable items as well as removal and disposable of the destroyed stuff.

I'm cashing in ALL of my chips, calling in any favor, and praying that any of the "good karma" I've created the past 15 years as the Director of the Champaign County Toys for Tots program counts for something. If I've never done anything good for any person, I'm praying, for the sake of my kids, that we can get the help we need.

Please consider giving and/or sharing this with your network. Thank you in advance for any help you're able to provide.