Help Valentine Rebuild HIs Home
Donation protected
On Saturday, February 20, Valentin’s family home in Newburgh, New York had a massive fire. The fire was sudden and spread quickly. Valentin’s house and its contents were completely destroyed. Valentin is grateful that his family and their 3 dogs escaped injury.
Valentin Cordero, the Resident Manager of the Princeton House, has worked in the building for over two decades. He started as a porter and with a lot of hard work, determination and many night classes to expand his skills, he worked his way up to handyman and then Resident Manager.
During this time he met his sweetheart, Maritza. They settled into a lovely, old house and soon after, their daughter Valentina was born. Valentin was living his American Dream. He spent all his extra hours, renovating the house for his family with care, love and skill. Neighbors said it was the most beautiful house on the block.
But that fateful Saturday changed everything. Early in the morning, their neighbor was pounding on the front door. Valentin thought he was a burglar and told his wife to go upstairs and lock herself in a room with Valentina, who was sleeping. The neighbor was shouting “Fire – fire. Your garage is on fire.” Valentin ran to the garage and opened the door, burning his arm. The fire quickly spread to the house.
Luckily Maritza was able to get a sleepy Valentina out of the house and she had the presence of mind to remind Valentin to grab their easily-located passports but they lost the house. Cold weather froze the water in the hydrants, leaving the firemen unable to tame the fire. Valentin, Maritza, Valentina and their three dogs were safe and he is forever grateful for that.
We at the Princeton House truly appreciate Valentin. He keeps the building running efficiently and because of his skills, knowledge and innate talent he takes care of tasks and projects above and beyond the duties of a Resident Manager. When the Covid pandemic hit, he developed the logistics, organized the staff and made sure that the Princeton House followed CDC rules and guidelines. He thinks of this place as his other home.
Now, in his time of need we have an opportunity to help someone who has spent his professional life helping all of us.
Please contribute what you can to help Valentin as he struggles to rebuild, contends with insurance adjusters and embarks on the demolition and rebuilding of his family home. From what we understand, between the fire damage, smoke damage and the fire department’s water damage, he will need to completely reconstruct his home and replace the contents. Insurance will only cover a fraction of the cost.
Valentin Cordero, the Resident Manager of the Princeton House, has worked in the building for over two decades. He started as a porter and with a lot of hard work, determination and many night classes to expand his skills, he worked his way up to handyman and then Resident Manager.
During this time he met his sweetheart, Maritza. They settled into a lovely, old house and soon after, their daughter Valentina was born. Valentin was living his American Dream. He spent all his extra hours, renovating the house for his family with care, love and skill. Neighbors said it was the most beautiful house on the block.
But that fateful Saturday changed everything. Early in the morning, their neighbor was pounding on the front door. Valentin thought he was a burglar and told his wife to go upstairs and lock herself in a room with Valentina, who was sleeping. The neighbor was shouting “Fire – fire. Your garage is on fire.” Valentin ran to the garage and opened the door, burning his arm. The fire quickly spread to the house.
Luckily Maritza was able to get a sleepy Valentina out of the house and she had the presence of mind to remind Valentin to grab their easily-located passports but they lost the house. Cold weather froze the water in the hydrants, leaving the firemen unable to tame the fire. Valentin, Maritza, Valentina and their three dogs were safe and he is forever grateful for that.
We at the Princeton House truly appreciate Valentin. He keeps the building running efficiently and because of his skills, knowledge and innate talent he takes care of tasks and projects above and beyond the duties of a Resident Manager. When the Covid pandemic hit, he developed the logistics, organized the staff and made sure that the Princeton House followed CDC rules and guidelines. He thinks of this place as his other home.
Now, in his time of need we have an opportunity to help someone who has spent his professional life helping all of us.
Please contribute what you can to help Valentin as he struggles to rebuild, contends with insurance adjusters and embarks on the demolition and rebuilding of his family home. From what we understand, between the fire damage, smoke damage and the fire department’s water damage, he will need to completely reconstruct his home and replace the contents. Insurance will only cover a fraction of the cost.
Organizer and beneficiary
Helen Flaum
Organizer
New York, NY
Valentin Cordero
Beneficiary