LegalEASE Employee Hurricane Relief

Day 23 of Harvey.

Your donation has brought palpable relief to many Houstonians/LegalEASE colleagues this week.

Ten colleagues (three of whom incurred a total loss) who were hit the hardest during the storm, filled out our internal claim form for assistance.  Once all was said and done, your donations of over $30,000 enabled us to cover 92% of each colleagues' financial request.  

Many tears were shed upon receiving these monetary gifts over the past few days.  Although government aid programs are in place, very little relief has come through yet to many Houstonians.

Again, thank you from the very bottom of our hearts for your generosity and support through this devastating time for many.  As one colleague put it upon receiving her donation gift, "this is the light at the end of the tunnel."


Day 18 of Harvey.

After assessing most of the damage, we have two employees whose homes were a total loss, as well as several colleagues who have lost significantly in terms of furniture and vehicles.  We are grateful and so fortunate to have your support in this rebuilding effort for Houston and our team.

For the past two weeks, the worldly belongings of many neighbors were on display in front yards across the city, in an effort to remove wet drywall, furniture, flooring and mattresses before mold can begin to grow inside of the homes.  The picture featured on our account at this time, is of one of our manager's homes.  

Again, we are so very grateful and appreciative from the bottom of our hearts for your support of the LegalEASE team.  Once we are a little further along in the rebuilding phase, more pictures will follow.


Day 7 of Harvey.

 
Hurricane Harvey started out innocuously for us Houstonians.  We saw the potential track and prepared early, as it was only a few years ago that Allison followed a similar path, lingered and dumped massive rains on the Houston area, flooding us for days.  

 
And then the once in 800 years floodwaters from Harvey roared into Houston after wreaking havoc in Corpus Christi and our southern neighbors. By now you have all seen the massive water and air rescues that have taken place all over Houston.  Indeed, many of our employees were stranded and many others were helping rescue their neighbors. Some of our employees are still stranded, after leaving their homes in evacuation zones.  

The storm is over, and now we are left with the clean-up.  Today, we have confirmed that 8 of our employees houses have suffered complete home flooding events (one of which is pictured above), and many others who will have to replace floors, large pieces of furniture, etc.  We also had one employee whose wife delivered her baby boy and then had to evacuate the hospital during the Hurricane. We have not been able to determine the full extent of the needs of our employees, but we now have a good idea of how much help they are going to need.  

Thanks to all who have expressed interest in our well-being and for your offers to help.  All of Houston needs whatever you can help with and we are considering several charity alternatives.  But it occurs to me that where we can help in the most significant and personal way, is with our employees who have lost everything or near everything.  We are in touch with each one and continue assessing their needs.  But it will take a few days, as some cannot even get to their houses until the flood waters recede.  We have decided to organize this fund-raising platform among our business partners, associates, clients, employees and friends who all want to help in this time of need.

100% of these donations will go to help our employees cover their losses. Thank you for your help and thoughts.

 

Robert L. Heston, Jr.

President and Chief Executive Officer

LegalEASE and Legal Access Plans

Houston, Texas