Help survivors of Hurricane Otis rebuild

To family and friends,

On the evening of Tuesday, October 24 starting at 11:45 pm, Maureen and I lived through a horrifying experience as Hurricane Otis tore through Acapulco for the next 4 hours. I am sure all of you have seen video and photo footage of the aftermath. Having witnessed firsthand the devastation, I can tell you that the situation is worse than what you saw on TV, etc.

I do however want to share something special. Amid all this destruction, some of the staff members of the condominium complex we belong to showed up to work a few hours after the storm had passed. The following day, more staff showed up, the following day even more. One worker, who lost everything, walked almost 24 hours to get to work. Since the roads are blocked with debris, many walk 3 hours each day to get to work.

I would always ask everyone I saw, “How are you and how is your family?” and then “How is your home?”. Fortunately, the answer to the first question was always “I am fine, and my family is fine”. The answer to the second question, unfortunately, was always either “My home has major damage” or “I have no home, I lost everything”.

It is because of the answers to the second question, Maureen and I started a GoFundMe page to support the 32 staff members. Our goal is to raise $50,000 to help them rebuild their modest homes. All funds raised will go directly and only to the staff members. Maureen and I have seeded the fund and hope you will consider contributing as well.

Thank you in advance for your consideration,

Len and Maureen Gaudio