Rally for Tony, Patrice, and Their Family

Those of us who know Tony and Patrice know that they are the kind of people we all want in our circle of friends. They are deeply committed to their faith, their family, and their friends, and for a little over a year since they uprooted their family and came to Deer Valley, they have been devoted entirely to serving the DV community and restoring the vibrancy and stability we knew before COVID. If you are someone who knew them at a previous camp, you know how they can inspire a community with their energy and positivity! Now, completely unexpectedly, they have lost their jobs, and within a month will lose the house and health care that came with those jobs. This would be devastating under the best of circumstances, but Patrice’s cancer treatments and other family medical expenses (their son was diagnosed with Ankylosing spondylitis last month) have already depleted their savings. They now face the daunting challenge of finding employment, housing, and health care, all at the same time and on short notice.

Tony and Patrice would be the first to offer assistance to anyone else in need, yet, characteristically, they are hesitant to ask for help for themselves. Because of this, I am reaching out as their friend to ask for your help. The financial burden they face in the coming months will be staggering - imagine having to pay for temporary housing while trying to figure out where you will be going, paying for your own moving expenses, and simply putting food on the table, all while having to pay for expensive cancer and other medical treatments out of pocket, without the benefit of insurance. This would be enough to break the spirits of even the strongest people, and to challenge the faith of the most devoted, but Tony and Patrice remain positive about their future and steadfast in their faith despite great uncertainty. But make no mistake, they need our help! Whether you know Tony and Patrice from Deer Valley or from a previous camp, I ask you to reflect on your interactions with Tony and Patrice and their family, on the impact they have made in your lives, on the energy and excitement they have restored to a place we all love, on the example they have set for your children and grandchildren, and on the concern they must be feeling for their own children and for each other, and give generously. I have set an ambitious goal of $100,000, knowing that they will continue to have large medical expenses in addition to needing income to cover the basics until they can find a new home and employment. Tony and Patrice have touched countless lives, at Camp Wesley Woods, Camp Ockanickon, Jamestown 4H, Deer Valley, and beyond, always in the selfless service of others. Please circulate this across these networks, and let’s make sure we give back to them as much as they have given to us. If 300 of their friends and families can give $300 each, we will be awfully close to that goal, but any amount helps, so please give whatever makes sense for you and your family.