I am Laura Rhodes a close friend of Victoria “Vicky” Baumann and I live on the west coast of Florida that was recently devastated by Tropical Storm Debbie, Hurricane Helene and now Hurricane Milton. Vicky, a life long friend of mine, grew up with me in Largo, Florida. She has struggled so hard to regain her independence after an extended 2 year health crisis, was tragically impacted by Hurricane Milton and has been unable to occupy what is left of her home. She has lost quite a bit of her belongings and furniture and the home is currently uninhabitable. FEMA is helping by temporarily paying for her to reside at a hotel for one month. She has lost many days at her part time job due to damage at her place of employment as well.

We anticipate substantial costs associated with repair or replacement of her mobile home and her belongings. The funds may also be used for ongoing living expenses since her place of work was also impacted. Monthly Disability payments alone are not enough to allow her to rebuild her life. She did not have any insurance to cover this loss due to insurance costing 1/3 of her monthly Disability. Many people have asked how they can help, so we have set up this fund so that she has access to money to assist her in returning to her independent living.

This fund is very hard for Vicky to accept. She wants me to express her deepest gratitude, appreciation and love in advance to all those who donate to our fundraiser for her journey back to independence. She couldn’t do this without your love and support!!!