Help Ruthie Recover from Florence

Ruthie Halko was a long time Cranford resident, born and raised.  Many of you may know Ruthie from the Barker Lounge, Westfield Vet Group or through her dog walking business.  To say Ruthie that is an animal lover is an underestimate.  Ruthie is an animal lover, advocate and friend.  I can truly attest to that as she loved and cared for our dog, Josh, even being with my family and I when Josh had to be helped to the Rainbow Bridge.  Ruthie’s Mom was a long time Secretary at Brookside Place School.  A couple years ago after suddenly losing her father and then shortly after that her mother Ruthie decided to start anew in Wilmington NC, a place she had grown to love after visiting there year after year.   Ruthie lived there with her husband and 5 furbabies, until Florence destroyed everything.  Ruthie and her family evacuated to North Jersey leaving their home and their personal belongings. 

Waiting to get back they recently got this information:
Update: Our roof caved in, so there's that. We've got water damage due to lack of a roof. We are missing a decent portion of our fence. That's the major details. We are still in NJ, so we won't know all of the details until we get back. Looks like I lost some furniture, which was all my mom's furniture or things from my family, also carpets and some other things. We've applied for FEMA already, so fingers crossed with that. Contacting insurance company tomorrow. We spent money for gas to come to NJ, we also spent a lot of money on supplies to bring back to aid in a temporary fix. We obviously have lost all refrigerated and frozen food and won't have power for quite some time. We are safe and our furbabies are safe and that is what matters most. But I anticipate some sort of emotional hell when I find other things damaged that can't be replaced. Yes THINGS can be replaced physically, but most of what I possess has great sentimental value attached to it with family memories. Normally in natural disasters I volunteer and fundraise to the max for animal shelters, and hopefully I can when I get my stuff in order. But right now, love, prayers, a helping hand, or donations of any sort will gladly be accepted, and I'll leave it at that. I'm so thankful that we evacuated and had a safe place to stay in NJ. I truly am glad we are okay, but anxiety is filling my heart as I anticipate what's to come in the next few days, weeks or even months. We need to make the house livable for now because we can't afford to go anywhere else with all of the furbabies.

Also, due to the storm neither Ruthie nor her husband can get back to work because they cannot even get into Wilmington at this point and their places of employment have been damaged as well.

Just to let you know my relationship with Ruthie. She is a friend of mine who I met through our mutual love of dogs. While Ruthie has returned to NC to try and pick of the pieces of her life. I will be sending her the funds raised via Venmo.

Please help Ruthie and her family recover from this natural disaster. Any little bit helps.  Thanks!