Help Deedee and Jamie Rebuild After Hurricane

Hello, 

You are probably receiving this message because we were classmates at Minnehaha Academy or Wheaton College. We are writing to see how you may be able to help our dear friends and classmates who have been devastated by Hurricane Helene. Like many families that do not live along the coast, they experienced damage from the storm that was both unexpected and significant. 

Our friends are Deedee and Jamie Brabenec who live in Augusta, Georgia. The photo shows what they are facing along with their neighbors.

The profoundly good news is that they were not hurt given the severity of the storm. While they did not lose everything, their home has suffered severe structural damage from wind, falling trees, and water, as well as one car that was totaled from a falling tree.  

They are without power, they have limited food supplies, the water finally came back on with a boil advisory, and there is limited travel access into and out of their area. They have one small generator to charge phones and run the Keurig in the morning! They have one lamp on in the evening. They don’t run the generator overnight, so their fridge is cleaned out, but they do have a big cooler. A limited number of grocery stores are open if they need anything. They sleep in their home with their dog for now, and the temps at night are fine so far. They know that they will have to find temporary housing soon though. That will be difficult with so many other families looking for places to stay as well.  

Their insurance adjuster has not been able to meet with them, but they are hoping to see him this week. However, Servpro told them yesterday that most of their interior walls, ceilings, and floors (upstairs and downstairs) will have to be opened up/removed, and the kitchen and bathrooms will have to be completely gutted. Things could change once they begin opening everything up and they are able to see more clearly the extent of the damage. The hope is to at least be able to save most of the structure of their home.   

Many people across the affected area have suffered similar damage, contributing to a backlog for repair crews. The whole task of rebuilding seems almost overwhelming at times, but they are holding on to their faith and asking for prayer to believe that God will provide for their needs one day at a time. They face a headwind from lack of supplies, restricted travel, and the heightened demand for skilled labor. The road ahead seems long and winter is coming. In a perfect world, we would just show up and help them and their neighbors, but that’s not an option at the moment. To rebuild their lives will take months and be incredibly expensive. That is why we have set up this GoFundMe page. We would like to ease Deedee and Jamie’s financial burdens as they take on this endeavor. All financial contributions will go directly to the Brabenecs and assist in this effort.

Thank you for taking the time to read this message. If you decide to get involved, it may be as simple as providing a note of encouragement or a much-needed prayer for Deedee and Jamie and all those affected by such a disastrous hurricane. If you decide to help them financially, we thank you in advance for your generosity and know that Deedee and Jamie will be so very grateful. It doesn’t take much to make a big difference!

Thank you again!

Gina and Tom Schmidt, Kathryn Holum and Glenn Baron, Nancy and Skip (Boyce) Herndon, Pamela and Greg Rapelje-Trapp, Anne Helseth, Beth and Mike (Holmgren) Wozniak, & Kris and Charles (Renfer) Bailey