Help Our Veteran Restore His Loving Home

Ashley Millington is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Kathy Rapone.

Donation protected

Our Veteran needs your help! Wendell Wilbanks of St. Pete Beach, a Disabled Veteran who suffers from severe PTSD and chronic back pain from the Air Force, was recently forced to drop the content coverage on his home right before the hurricane hit; they simply made it unaffordable for a retired disabled man on a fixed income because they knew how bad it would be. Hurricane Helene trapped him and his best friend Kat in his home for over 72 hours while they had water to their chests waiting for help.

The hurricane destroyed his entire home, and he lost all of his home belongings and furniture except a few items. His home, just like all his neighbors, ended up with 4 feet of flooding during Hurricane Helene. He doesn't have a place to live right now because of the devastation—no power, no water, no nothing. He lost all of his personal belongings too, including guitars from his father and many things you can't get back. He is asking for help to rebuild his home again since the insurance company won't cover it. Wendell has over 200K in damages, and they just started gutting the entire home yesterday.

I met Wendell 2 years ago because he is best friends with my best friend Kat, who was stuck in the home with him during the hurricane. They have helped me countless times with my non-profit; they are both selfless human beings always willing to help others. They would never ask for help from anybody, even during this severe situation. They want to do it on their own, but the reality is our veteran needs your help monetarily, and he would never ask himself. He does a lot of good for the community of St. Pete, giving back his time.

I know a lot of people are struggling right now, but if you can donate anything to the cause to help him rebuild his home and guest house to start making income again, he will forever be grateful. A little donation goes a long way in a time of need. Once we can rebuild the foundation and the beach is back together, we will be hosting a volunteer gathering to show our appreciation at his property to show you how much of an impact you have made for a local vet!

Many prayers to all affected, and thank you for reading! We appreciate any help we can get, even if that means sharing Wendell's story, connecting him to builders who will help rebuild, free income resources, or being able to give to the cause. It all adds up! We believe in our community and know we will rebuild stronger. #floridastrong

Donation funds will go to the rebuild of the home. We have listed some estimated costs of needed essentials along with an Amazon list of household things they need. Any way you can give goes a long way; if you have a toaster to give or extra wood we can use, that helps too.