Help Marino family of Lambertville NJ post Ida

Hi.

Jeff Kipnis here.

My friends through my lab, the Marino family, live in Lambertville, NJ which was destroyed by Ida's floods this September.

While making repairs now to the house they live in, uncovered by insurance, they also must now repair the heavily damaged house there they have under contract to sell to another family and have been working on tirelessly for the past year updating for the sale. The basement completely flooded and water got into the first floor as well. Water and home heating units, and more, are complete losses. Since the second house is not their principal residence, FEMA will not aid them to repair it even though Lambertville is well within Hunterdon County's declared disaster area. It will all be out of pocket.

Again, to get ready for another family to make that house THEIR home.

John and his wife Roni (a social worker) and their school age daughters, Cassidy and Carly, moved in with Roni's parents about a year ago who are older with some health issues and need some assistance. They made updates to that house to accomodate the entire family, and being super handy, have done a lot of the work on both houses all on their own. Much of their weekend and vacation time the past two years has been spent in town working on both.

And now thay have to go back and do a lot more.

John and I have been friends ever since I joined the lab over 20 years ago, and Nancy and I were fortunate to attend his and Roni's wedding the year after I was hired.

They are a great family, and do not deserve their efforts to be so easily washed away.

Please aid them in funding the repairs and getting their lives a little more back to 'normal,' for all their efforts.

Thank you.