Housing Mr. Eastep, an Aggie Custodian
Tax deductible
We are excited to announce that this afternoon we will be working with Mr. Eastep to fill out his applications and get a 6-month lease started right here in College Station, Tx. Our goal is to get him into his new home by Friday afternoon so that he can enjoy this weekend relaxing in HIS NEW HOME!
With that being said, just because Mr. Eastep has a roof over his head that doesn't mean he has things that one needs to make it truly feel like a home, rather than just a house. After speaking as a team the REACH Project has decided to increase our fundraising goal and change up our marketing strategy. We now want to help Mr. Eastep get a bed, a dresser, a tv, some dishes/cook wear but we also want to help him pay for another 6 months on his lease.
Mr. Eastep said it best, "this is the fresh start that I need to help turn my life right side up again" and we want to ensure that he has all that he needs to be successful. Please consider donating anything that you can, as every dollar helps us take one step closer to our goal.
If you cant donate money, but still want to help please consider sharing this campaign and Mr. Eastep's Story with your network.
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This past week the REACH Project was lucky enough to meet Mr. Doug Eastep. Mr. Eastep is a lifelong resident of Bryan, “been living here for just over 57 years and couldn’t imagine anywhere else”. He grew up “out in the country” with his mother and two younger sisters. “Growing up,” Doug says “I always remembered being there for them”, needless to say, family has always been important to him.
When Mr. Eastep is not spending time with friends or family he works as a Custodian on the Texas A&M campus. Waking up extremely early every morning to clean the Dorms for the Corps of Cadets “is well worth it” he says, “it is an honor” and “something that I get to look forward to doing every day”. Growing up he had always heard of the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M and a few times even thought “what if I could do that …”. Mr. Eastep has been with this new cleaning Crew since Early June and says that it feels like a “new family when he needed it the most”.
December 9th, 2019 Mr. Eastep's life was changed forever. On this date, his mother unexpectedly passed away which left his world completely upside down. Just to make things worse, her sudden death lead to a loss in the household income and the inevitable inability to pay the household bills and taxes came soon thereafter. Not knowing what to do Mr. Eastep’s uncle stepped in and unbeknownst to him, sold the house, and left Mr. Eastep out to try. This left him without his mom, his childhood home, and without any money.
Mr. Eastep has been living in his car for the last 8 months. He spends his days cleaning and taking care of the Texas A&M campus and he spends his nights going from washeteria to washeteria all across town just to find some Wifi and electricity. How can this be happening to someone in our own Aggie Family? How can someone who selflessly risk’s their life on a daily basis so that the “Spirit of Aggieland” can be safe and healthy, be falling through the cracks?
Aggieland, let's show the world what it means to be part of the Aggie family and let us use our network to get Mr. Eastep off the street and into a place that he can call home.
We ask that you consider donating whatever you can, 100% of donations will be used to find Mr. Eastep an apartment and anything left over will help get him on his feet. We are setting a goal of $6,000, this will cover application fees, security deposit, the first 6 months rent,and $100 a month for utilities.
Every $ makes an impact, please help us share Mr. Eastep’s story so that together we can get him on his feet!
With that being said, just because Mr. Eastep has a roof over his head that doesn't mean he has things that one needs to make it truly feel like a home, rather than just a house. After speaking as a team the REACH Project has decided to increase our fundraising goal and change up our marketing strategy. We now want to help Mr. Eastep get a bed, a dresser, a tv, some dishes/cook wear but we also want to help him pay for another 6 months on his lease.
Mr. Eastep said it best, "this is the fresh start that I need to help turn my life right side up again" and we want to ensure that he has all that he needs to be successful. Please consider donating anything that you can, as every dollar helps us take one step closer to our goal.
If you cant donate money, but still want to help please consider sharing this campaign and Mr. Eastep's Story with your network.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This past week the REACH Project was lucky enough to meet Mr. Doug Eastep. Mr. Eastep is a lifelong resident of Bryan, “been living here for just over 57 years and couldn’t imagine anywhere else”. He grew up “out in the country” with his mother and two younger sisters. “Growing up,” Doug says “I always remembered being there for them”, needless to say, family has always been important to him.
When Mr. Eastep is not spending time with friends or family he works as a Custodian on the Texas A&M campus. Waking up extremely early every morning to clean the Dorms for the Corps of Cadets “is well worth it” he says, “it is an honor” and “something that I get to look forward to doing every day”. Growing up he had always heard of the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M and a few times even thought “what if I could do that …”. Mr. Eastep has been with this new cleaning Crew since Early June and says that it feels like a “new family when he needed it the most”.
December 9th, 2019 Mr. Eastep's life was changed forever. On this date, his mother unexpectedly passed away which left his world completely upside down. Just to make things worse, her sudden death lead to a loss in the household income and the inevitable inability to pay the household bills and taxes came soon thereafter. Not knowing what to do Mr. Eastep’s uncle stepped in and unbeknownst to him, sold the house, and left Mr. Eastep out to try. This left him without his mom, his childhood home, and without any money.
Mr. Eastep has been living in his car for the last 8 months. He spends his days cleaning and taking care of the Texas A&M campus and he spends his nights going from washeteria to washeteria all across town just to find some Wifi and electricity. How can this be happening to someone in our own Aggie Family? How can someone who selflessly risk’s their life on a daily basis so that the “Spirit of Aggieland” can be safe and healthy, be falling through the cracks?
Aggieland, let's show the world what it means to be part of the Aggie family and let us use our network to get Mr. Eastep off the street and into a place that he can call home.
We ask that you consider donating whatever you can, 100% of donations will be used to find Mr. Eastep an apartment and anything left over will help get him on his feet. We are setting a goal of $6,000, this will cover application fees, security deposit, the first 6 months rent,and $100 a month for utilities.
Every $ makes an impact, please help us share Mr. Eastep’s story so that together we can get him on his feet!
Organizer
Max Gerall
Organizer
College Station, TX
The REACH Project
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
