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Hello and thanks for viewing my campaign! My name is Thomas Torres. I'm 22 years old, a little socially-awkward so I'm not very good at writing things like this, please bear with me.
For many years I lived with my great-grandfather in southeast Seminole Heights. Originally, he and his wife lived in an old bungalow (built in 1923) that his parents bought in the 1960s. I moved into that house as a child when my family lost our house in 2007 because of the Subprime mortgage crisis. I spent the latter half of my childhood in that house. My great-grandmother eventually passed away, and my family moved out when our parents divorced. Around 2017, my sister and I paid off the mortgage on the house and our great-grandfather gave it to us on the condition he could live out his last days there. In 2018 I moved back into the house to care for my great-grandfather (who was alone) and make repairs. I go to school at Erwin Technical College just up the street, where I've been learning all the skills needed to fix up the house.
In the early morning after Christmas I woke up to my room filled with smoke, and the front porch was on fire! I was able to call 911 and escape the house in time, but my great-grandfather wasn't as lucky. He died of smoke inhalation, what a terrible fate, he was 93 years old. It was very cold that morning, I escaped with my pants but not a jacket. The Tampa Police and Fire Departments arrived quickly and did their jobs very well, but the old house went up like a tinder box. The entire livable portion was destroyed in the fire; only the garage remained undamaged. I lost all my food, kitchen appliances, building materials, and some of my tools and clothes.
Since then I've been doing my best to pick up the pieces and adjust. The house has been condemned and is now in violation of city code for being an unsecured vacant structure. I had to pack up all the things I could salvage and back into my parent's house, although there isn't much room for me now. The house was ransacked by junkers and looters not even a week after it burnt down. Although, I'm not too upset about that because I got my stuff out in time, and it all has to be demolished anyways. I sincerely hope the stuff they took serves them better than it did me. I've had to deal with all this while still going to college full-time and contacted various local organizations for support.
Now, I don't ask other people for their hard-earned money, it just doesn't sit right with me. I like to give but I'll never ask to receive. However, I make $80 a week doing college work-study, and that's not enough. I am going to get a real job after I graduate, but that's in September. This is all to say that as much as I hate asking for money, I really do need it. A lot of my friends have asked me to start a gofundme campaign, and initially I declined because I have received a lot of support already, and I am very thankful for every last bit of it. Even with all that support, I can't do this on my own. What's left of the house still needs to be demolished and the lot has to be taken care of to comply with City of Tampa.
So, the City of Tampa estimated that it will cost about $4,500 to demolish the structure, and an additional $5,000 to remove ~100 cubic yards of debris. That's about $10,000 total. I think that's a legitimate, and modest, goal for my campaign. Any extra funds will go towards food, basic necessities, replacing the important things that I lost, and possibly even building a new fence around the house to comply with City Codes. If I'm completely taken care of and there is still more money, I'll be completely blown away! I'll donate it to the organizations and people that have helped me out so far i.e. the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and others. I'll leave this campaign open for month, maybe two if necessary
I have a facebook page that I haven't posted much to in the past, except to showcase my carpentry skills, but I'll start posting updates about my situation so you can follow me there if you wish.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009348630879
Anyways, thank you so much for taking the time to hear my story. Even if I only get $1 from this, it's still something, and I'll be thankful for that. Know that I'm still very grateful to my friends, family, and all the organizations who have helped me out so far. All the money, food, clothes, referrals to other people, and even the advice. It's all been a great big help to me. It should go without saying, but I'm thankful to any and all who donate to this campaign or reach out to me to help some other way, even if it's just kind words. Thank you all so much, and may God bless you.
For many years I lived with my great-grandfather in southeast Seminole Heights. Originally, he and his wife lived in an old bungalow (built in 1923) that his parents bought in the 1960s. I moved into that house as a child when my family lost our house in 2007 because of the Subprime mortgage crisis. I spent the latter half of my childhood in that house. My great-grandmother eventually passed away, and my family moved out when our parents divorced. Around 2017, my sister and I paid off the mortgage on the house and our great-grandfather gave it to us on the condition he could live out his last days there. In 2018 I moved back into the house to care for my great-grandfather (who was alone) and make repairs. I go to school at Erwin Technical College just up the street, where I've been learning all the skills needed to fix up the house.
In the early morning after Christmas I woke up to my room filled with smoke, and the front porch was on fire! I was able to call 911 and escape the house in time, but my great-grandfather wasn't as lucky. He died of smoke inhalation, what a terrible fate, he was 93 years old. It was very cold that morning, I escaped with my pants but not a jacket. The Tampa Police and Fire Departments arrived quickly and did their jobs very well, but the old house went up like a tinder box. The entire livable portion was destroyed in the fire; only the garage remained undamaged. I lost all my food, kitchen appliances, building materials, and some of my tools and clothes.
Since then I've been doing my best to pick up the pieces and adjust. The house has been condemned and is now in violation of city code for being an unsecured vacant structure. I had to pack up all the things I could salvage and back into my parent's house, although there isn't much room for me now. The house was ransacked by junkers and looters not even a week after it burnt down. Although, I'm not too upset about that because I got my stuff out in time, and it all has to be demolished anyways. I sincerely hope the stuff they took serves them better than it did me. I've had to deal with all this while still going to college full-time and contacted various local organizations for support.
Now, I don't ask other people for their hard-earned money, it just doesn't sit right with me. I like to give but I'll never ask to receive. However, I make $80 a week doing college work-study, and that's not enough. I am going to get a real job after I graduate, but that's in September. This is all to say that as much as I hate asking for money, I really do need it. A lot of my friends have asked me to start a gofundme campaign, and initially I declined because I have received a lot of support already, and I am very thankful for every last bit of it. Even with all that support, I can't do this on my own. What's left of the house still needs to be demolished and the lot has to be taken care of to comply with City of Tampa.
So, the City of Tampa estimated that it will cost about $4,500 to demolish the structure, and an additional $5,000 to remove ~100 cubic yards of debris. That's about $10,000 total. I think that's a legitimate, and modest, goal for my campaign. Any extra funds will go towards food, basic necessities, replacing the important things that I lost, and possibly even building a new fence around the house to comply with City Codes. If I'm completely taken care of and there is still more money, I'll be completely blown away! I'll donate it to the organizations and people that have helped me out so far i.e. the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and others. I'll leave this campaign open for month, maybe two if necessary
I have a facebook page that I haven't posted much to in the past, except to showcase my carpentry skills, but I'll start posting updates about my situation so you can follow me there if you wish.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009348630879
Anyways, thank you so much for taking the time to hear my story. Even if I only get $1 from this, it's still something, and I'll be thankful for that. Know that I'm still very grateful to my friends, family, and all the organizations who have helped me out so far. All the money, food, clothes, referrals to other people, and even the advice. It's all been a great big help to me. It should go without saying, but I'm thankful to any and all who donate to this campaign or reach out to me to help some other way, even if it's just kind words. Thank you all so much, and may God bless you.