Help Anita with financial hardship - Home Repairs
Lifelong Nutley, NJ resident needs our help
Anita Balde has lived in Nutley her entire life.
Her father Julio Balde was the founder and scoutmaster of Troop 102 Boy Scout Troop in Newark, NJ for 74 years. Below are a couple of links to stories about him that have been featured on news stations all over the country:
95 year old scoutmaster retires
The New York Times feature on Julio
The Ultimate Scout - Final Salute at 96
Julio sadly passed away in February of 2018. And to say the road has been hard for Anita since then would be an understatement. Anita and Julio had lived together alone for many years. Anita's Mom passed away many years ago, and the two of them were always together from that point on. If you saw Julio, Anita was by his side. So although Julio was blessed to live 96 years, this took a great toll on her.
Fast forward a couple years later, and while Anita fought with worsening medical issues and struggled to make ends meet, along came Covid 19. This only deepened the medical and financial issues that Anita had been trying her best to keep at bay.
On July 9th 2021 the roof of her home partially caved in.
The water damage was so extensive in the bedroom of her home, that at one point she needed to sleep with a mask on to keep from choking and breathing in the dangerous mold and mildew. Luckily, her homeowners insurance was able to cover the majority of the damage. Entire walls of the home had to be removed and rebuilt. It was an incredibly stressful time, but she managed to get through most of it with a smile on her face.
Until August 11th 2021.
Barely a month after the major roof/flood damage, the main sewer pipe to Anitas home burst. Leaving her with sewage all over her basement and no way to even use the bathroom. This was, sadly, too much for Anita to bear. Frankly, I think it would have been too much for ANY of us to bear.
A few days later, the damage was thankfully fixed. But this time, insurance would not cover any of it. The repair will be upwards of $20,0000.
THIS IS WHY SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP.
Anita and her family have devoted their lives to helping others.
Not only with the boy scouts, where Anita assisted her Dad as an estimated 1000+ scouts passed through that troop while Mr. Balde was scoutmaster.
But also as integral members of the Nutley Rescue Squad, which her father joined in 1962, and Anita joined shortly after her Mom's passing in 1994.
They were also involved with the now defunct "Nutley Friends, for special and abused children", lendining their spare time to those in need. Often staying behind after others went home to continue to be of service.
I mention all of this to you today, to paint a picture of a family, or more specifically a Father and Daughter, who HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR OTHERS. A family that has up until very recently never asked for help. In fact, they were usually the ones you would count on if you needed help.
Even now, during one of the darkest times in her life, as the construction crews were en route to do a repair Anita knew she had no way to pay for, do you know what one of her first concerns was?
"I need to let my neighbor know that there will be construction workers here. Their dog doesn't do well with loud noises."
We are talking about an individual so selfless, that she thought of the neighbor's dog's well-being, as her house fell down around her.
PLEASE give what you can. But even more importantly, please help spread the word. The more eyes we can get on this the better off Anita will be. There is no donation too small. If we were to receive even $1 from every life Anita and Julio touched, we could make this goal 10x over.
Every dollar from this GoFundMe goes DIRECTLY to Anita. (besides whatever fee GoFundMe charges)
Thank you for your time, and God Bless.