My name is Haley, and one of the greatest joys of my life has been marrying into the Taylor family. While many people count down the days until their in-laws leave, I count down until I get to see mine again. If you know Denise and Chokey Taylor, or any of their children, you already understand why.

Their generosity, humor, and warmth radiate from them. If they have something and you need it, it becomes yours, and their labor is always free of charge. They keep no score and never expect anything in return, and during the pandemic they made sure their team could survive even when there was no business. So today, I am asking for help on their behalf because it is my privilege as their daughter-in-law not to follow the rules, and I intend to use that for good.

Denise and Chokey met in the early 1980s, and the world got better in the days they brought my husband and brother-in-law into it. Jamaica is a breathtaking place, but it is not built to make escaping poverty simple. Through years of hard work, taking any jobs they could, living wherever they needed to, saving every cent, they built a life and eventually built a home together, board by board, with their own hands.

Mornings on Gemini Hill as they call it feel like the sun is waking you up personally. I always wake slowly to a soft chorus of lizards, birds, and too-early roosters. The balcony looks out over green that never seems to end. Denise and Chokey cook me soothing foods because I never travel without a stomachache, and dote over me and every visitor. I can still see the bright Caribbean paint colors, the hand-carved doors, the garden that Chokey tends to, and the orchids that Denise somehow keeps alive. I can see their family photos fill the walls- proof of lives lived with joy and love. Downstairs, I can hear Chokey’s band play familiar songs that blend with the rustling breeze that never stops. The yard makes its own food, and fruit waits in the yard, sweet and sun-heavy. Everything hums. Everything feels held.

On October 27th, we received the message every family fears: the house was nearly gone. Then the line went silent. One blink, and this humble paradise was gone. A legacy of memories left in Hurricane Melissa's path, replaced with dirt, water, and ruin. Those 48 hours without contact were impossibly long. When word finally came, the only thing that mattered was that they were safe. True to who they are, after the storm they helped neighbors clear trees and checked on others before thinking of themselves. That is who they have always been.

Their home is no longer livable. Jamaica's infrastructure is fragile even on the best days, and most people do not have insurance. Tourism will be stalled indefinitely, which means their income will be halted. Rebuilding will take time, patience, and resources that are not easily accessible.

So we are gathering together, because if there were ever a moment to help two people who have quietly helped everyone around them for decades, it is now.

All funds will support shelter for Denise and Chokey, essential supplies, and bringing their children to Jamaica to help. Any remaining funds will go toward rebuilding the home that held so much love, dollar by dollar, the same way they did it before.

Thank you for holding our family in your thoughts and hearts. If you cannot donate, please send love, share their story, and keep the spirit of generosity they embody alive.

They built a home once. We will help them do it again.

One Love,

Haley