Helping Betsy in replacing what was lost

Hi, my name is Meredith and I am donating to a good friend of mine’s emergency situation. Betsy and Elijah are dear to my heart. I’ve known her since high school. Their visits to me this year helping me in my grief have meant so much to me. I felt compelled to get the ball rolling for them. They have to put life back together and with some help from generous and compassionate friends I am sure it can be done.

From Betsy

We have lost practically all of our belongings due to a leak in the plumbing from the 2 upstairs units above us. The condo association and the liable owners upstairs will cover the repairs to the unit and plumbing, but not any of the loss of our belongings. As a single mom, Elijah and I have worked very hard to overcome some serious difficulties over the last few years. Divorce, job loss, Elijah being bullied at school by a peer for a year and by a teacher for months. Our home was our sanctuary. In this time of transition, we have had to put his forms of therapy on hold (I pay out of pocket for it) while I am forced to now compensate for the losses. We sold our house and were staying in our good friend's empty condo while we looked for our next home purchase and taking a breather from some other challenges. We are so grateful that they helped us by allowing us to stay there, but now we have lost all of our belongings due to a water leak and mold growth. We will be able to salvage some non-porous items, once remediation is complete. They still have not begun that process, allowing the mold to spread and grow. Everything porous must be disposed of. Anything that could harbor spores must go. Most things are replaceable, but some are not. It breaks my heart that special family items - my children's artwork, cookbooks with family recipes, Elijah's beloved stuffed animals, blankies... and then there are all of the books that I'd saved from my childhood for all of my children that are all contaminated. A special-find cast iron skillet I purchased on a trip I took with my oldest daughter from a thrift store on one of our 1st trips to her campus. On and on. We will need furniture (beds, dressers, couches, chairs, dining table and chairs), office equipment (desk, laptop, printer, office supplies), bathroom linens (towels, washcloths, floor mats), tv, all kinds of kitchen items (I bake and cook a lot for us and others), toys, books, and clothing for us both. Lamps, shelves, hangers, every kind of bedding, washer and dryer, exercise bike... damaged. Elijah's birthday is Feb 21st, and the gifts I got him are damaged. So are all of the Christmas goodies he received. Elijah wears a size 6T or 6 in clothing, 7 in pj's and underwear (he is thin and tall for his age), and 11.5 shoes. He loves button down shirts and ties, he cracks me up. He loves cars, trucks, stuffed animals, books - with pictures as well as chapter books, crafting, Spiderman in any form, and building (Legos, Magnetiles, race tracks). He loves imaginary play and dressing up as superheroes, cowboys, and construction workers. He loves gardening, caring for plants, and tells everyone he wants to be a Daddy when he grows up, so he enjoys caretaking of his stuffies. He also deeply enjoys science and physics. He truly loves to share and is worried about not being able to share his toys or snacks with his friends for a while. His apron (he loves baking with me) is also damaged. I lost all of my clothes and shoes for every season. Socks, undergarments, pj's. All of my art supplies are toast. A lot of pieces of art I've purchased or commissioned from local artist friends have been exposed to molds. Jewelry, toiletries, makeup were all out and exposed. We may have lost just about everything, but refuse to lose hope. We have so much love which is what truly makes a home... but we do need some help getting back on our feet. We are indebtedly grateful to anyone who may be in a position to help us in any way.