Kingston musician Kim Duca and her family have been moving from crisis to crisis for some time. A lot of us have seen the stress on Kim and so many have taken steps to help. They are so grateful! They are hesitant to ask for more. However, they face a deadline. They must sell their home by November 1. Because of the crises, the home is not finished. They were going to finish it themselves and don’t have the money to pay others. This fund request is to give them a way to finish the job and get out from under financial stress because there is also so much health stress.

Altogether, they need $20,000 but it doesn’t have to come in terms of donations alone. 1) Donations are awesome, and contributions will help so much. 2) Loans are also of interest, if you are in a position to do so. And 3) Donations of skilled labour could help a lot -- or the labour of your kids or neighbour if they have those abilities. A work day was held on July 18 and another may be scheduled. It will be a sort of old-fashioned work bee. We won’t raise the roof, exactly, but we will put up siding, build a deck, mud up some drywall. Here is a link to an email sign-up. That will keep you in the loop. We also have a list of tasks if you think you know the right someones. https://forms.gle/XLSc7UwewTK5ov1K6

Background:

A few years ago, when the sky was not threatening to fall on them all the time, Kim and her husband Nicolaas began building a dream home in a new development near Seeley's Bay, which is half an hour north of Kingston. Nicolaas is a skilled builder and took on a lot of the finishing work. They did a lot – but life interfered. Intense medical need in the family changed the priorities. Seeley's Bay is too far away to be close to cancer treatment for daughter Meghan. There's too much driving. It is not convenient in an emergency. The family must be in town. That’s the plan when the house sells.

It hasn’t been possible to finish the home themselves. Nicolaas recently had a mass removed from his brain. He is doing beautifully, and his prognosis is excellent – but he is just recovering. He is not supposed to work hard at this time. His balance is off, and he can’t climb scaffolding to finish the strapping and parging on the beautiful horizontal John Hardie siding. Most of the materials are on site but they need help with getting the work done. This likely must be a mix of volunteer labour and local professionals. They need help to pay for that.

One of Kim’s fears has been losing the house and all their investment. It’s the fear on top of the fear for Meghan and Nicolaas (and now her sister). This is something tangible we can help with.

The plan is to sell their home, repay their mortgage and buy or rent in town. Their dreams have changed. Financial stability is part of that new dream. Not having huge pieces of work to complete is another part. Living in a finished home will help.

Requests:

They do not know what is ahead for any of them. This request is to make “today” easier and let them concentrate on their own needs.

Thank you for any financial support you can offer. Just like in Open Voices where every voice makes the choir stronger, every donation makes a difference.

Join the workforce: A number of people have already headed out to the house and done so much good work. Volunteer labour is welcome.

To contribute labour or stay in the loop, you can use this sign up form. it's not about a workday any longer.What indicate your interest.

Sign-up form link

Thank you again, for your kindness and contributions.