Rice Family Hurricane Florence Fund

Dear Friends,

My cousin, David Rice, and his family lost most of their worldly possessions in Hurricane Florence. Thank God, they didn’t loose their lives when a huge tree crashed onto their home and two cars and destroyed everything.  

When we hear of tragedy hitting our fellow Americans in times of natural disasters we are moved to compassion and want to help. Supporting the “Restore the Rice Family Home Hurricane Florence Fund”, you can make a huge difference in helping this special family rebuild their home and lives after Florence.

Here is their story. David Rice (my cousin) and Debbi were both inside along with their youngest daughter Kimberly.

David and Debbi Rice were married in 1989 (the day after Hurricane Hugo).  They have two beautiful daughters, Rebecca (25) and Kimberly (age 18) They have had many ups and downs during their 29 years of marriage and in spite of it all, they are happy, healthy and feel very blessed.
Early evening on September 14th, Kimberly was in her room, Debbi was in the living room and David was in the bedroom. All were unaware of what was about to happen.  Suddenly there was a loud CRASH outside.  Shocked, they looked out the back sliding glass door and they saw that the huge stately tree that had been standing for decades, had fallen,  barely missing Kimberly’s room and Kimberly be a mere two feet.  By the Grace of God, she survived a near miss.

The tree had split into two pieces.  One hit the house, breaking thru the roof into the kitchen and causing the ceiling in the bedroom to fall onto Kimberly’s bed.  The other part of the tree landed on the two vehicles.  The house, a double wide trailer home, and the two cars were completely destroyed.  Thankfully, insurance handled the damaged vehicles, but sadly there was no insurance on their home, a double wide trailer, which had been given to them by a generous donor. 

The family grabbed what necessities they could and left the house with their beloved cats even as the storm continued to dump rain into the damaged home.  David and Debbi dipped into David’s 401k, most likely incurring a penalty, to come up with a down payment  for their new home, a single wide trailer home, total cost $70,000.  The family is still staying in an extended stay hotel and will continue to do so for another two months until their new home is ready.

Even though things are tough, David and Debbi are thankful that their family is  alive and well.

Our goal is to raise $70,000  for their new home and  to replace their damaged furniture due to mold and mildew. My husband and I are seeding the “Restore the Rice Family Home Hurricane Florence Fund”with an initial donation of $3000.  Will you join us? Any financial support you can give, whether large ($500, $250, $100) or small ($5, $10, $25, etc) , will help more than you know.

David, Debbi, Kimberly and Rebecca are deeply grateful for your support and your prayers.

 Thank you so much for your generosity and May God richly bless you and yours,

Donna Rice Hughes
www.donnaricehughes.com