When it was safe for her to return to Metairie, LA, part of the New Orleans metropolitan area, my Aunt Glenda discovered her small businesses, selling plants and antiques, were destroyed by Hurricane Ida.

Her greenhouse building is a total loss, as well as 95% of the plants. The space she rented for selling antiques lost part of its roof, and even with a tarp, water poured in. Both sources of income for Glenda vanished overnight. The roof on her own home is also in need of repair. Two trees need to be removed and a fence rebuilt. The hurricane damage deductible for her house alone is an eye popping $11.9k. Glenda was unable to insure the antique business which suffered major damage. The insurance payout for the greenhouse will be a fraction of what is needed to rebuild and restock it, especially since after a disaster, maddeningly, material prices go up and are hard to find. Glenda is in a long line for FEMA help. To add insult to injury, Hurricane/tropical storm Nicholas parked in the area, dumped more rain, caused more damage, and prolonged cleanup.

Glenda in the plant shirt with a friend at a home and garden show

Glenda, at 83 years of age, has been racing a clock to move furniture and other antiques before mold destroys everything. In the middle of this chaos, the unthinkable happened, Glenda broke her arm. Hurricane Ida has dealt a devastating blow that is touching every aspect of Glenda’s life.

There is a great deal of work to do. A greenhouse needs to be rebuilt, a whole inventory of plants restocked, antiques salvaged, cleaned or replaced, and Glenda’s own roof repaired. But maybe as important, her spirit needs to be lifted. She needs to know there are compassionate hearts out there wanting to help, people she might not even know willing to reach out because there is such need. If you can, please consider helping my Aunt Glenda rebuild her life. If you are unable to help at this time please share this information with everyone you know. Thank you.

GoFundMe requires the following information: My name is Suzanne Weed Martin. I live in Memphis, TN. My dad's brother was Larry Weed, Glenda's husband. With everything Glenda is going through I will coordinate the whole process and the funds will be sent to her. She will use the funds to supplement any insurance benefit she gets to rebuild her greenhouse, buy plants, restore and restock her antique store, repair her roof and fence, and remove fallen trees.