Relief Fund for Rudlong Emergency Expenses
Donation protected
Dear Family & Friends,
PLEASE read this.
This has been a heckuva year. For all of us.
The good thing about this year was that we were finally in a place to seriously start looking at buying a house, and on Thursday, November 19th, we closed on a home in Dodge Center. Built in 1920, it had some wonderful features, and we wish so very much that we could have a housewarming party and invite everyone to share in this joy. On November 21st, we moved over all of the big items, with the help of our “Team Beast Train”, and have been living here since.
On November 22nd, we discovered there was a sewage backup into our basement, which was sort of a crappy christening of home-ownership, but we got the problem resolved. Everyone we've talked to about it have chuckled a bit and said there's usually one big thing that goes wrong early on and then you're fine for a while, so we thought “Hey, we got that out of the way rather quickly. Here's to a brighter future!”.
However, every week we've been here, something big has gone wrong. The following weekend, on November 28th, there was another sewage backup, which presented more issues that were unseen at the first clearing out, and while the sewer company got us functioning, they said there was more work they would finish after the home warranty agency reimbursed us. Next our water heater went out on December 12th and we went almost a week before it was replaced. That same day, December 18th, the sewer company came back to finish clearing the line and it ended up that a large section of the pipe collapsed and couldn’t be fully cleared. We had to call out to an excavation company who were able to come on December 30th to dig out and replace the broken section. Unfortunately, the sewer company was not able to identify the broken section clearly enough, so half our front yard had to be dug up (along with a section of our sidewalk that we need to take care of) and a 20 foot section of sewer line had to be replaced. Additionally another section was identified closer to the house, and while much less serious, will still need to be repaired sometime in the spring.
I remarked to Christina that I feel a little bit like George Bailey. We bought a place that needs some TLC and has opportunity to be built up, but there's so much more to it, and then to have to put so much into it with huge, unforeseen problems, we're struggling and we are now reaching out to our village for help. I don't post on social media often, and when I do, it's usually a meme or something to try to bring a laugh to people during this bleak time... but here we are, coming to you all in supplication and hope that some of you would be willing to help us out in this dark hour.
Needless to say, our savings are gone. We are at the end of the rope at what should be a joyous season of our lives and right around the holidays! Had these things happened individually, spread out over some time, I think we would have been able to handle it, but we hope that the end of this year marks the end of the major troubles for long enough to build our savings again. We know that troubles at this level don't last forever and we so look forward to having you all out to our much larger cozy abode and, despite everything, are thrilled to have a place to call our own!
We need $2005 to cover the December excavation, $2000 for the repair coming in the spring, and $1000 for GFM fees and other related expenses. We hope to have the majority of these funds raised by February 1st as the bill for this December work will be coming due around then, and the remaining funds will be put towards the spring repair with the excavating company. Please help us meet our goal before then! Cash and checks are also welcome from those willing and able to drive by!
Please. Be our Clarence. Be our Annie, our Harry, our COMMUNITY.
PLEASE read this.
This has been a heckuva year. For all of us.
The good thing about this year was that we were finally in a place to seriously start looking at buying a house, and on Thursday, November 19th, we closed on a home in Dodge Center. Built in 1920, it had some wonderful features, and we wish so very much that we could have a housewarming party and invite everyone to share in this joy. On November 21st, we moved over all of the big items, with the help of our “Team Beast Train”, and have been living here since.
On November 22nd, we discovered there was a sewage backup into our basement, which was sort of a crappy christening of home-ownership, but we got the problem resolved. Everyone we've talked to about it have chuckled a bit and said there's usually one big thing that goes wrong early on and then you're fine for a while, so we thought “Hey, we got that out of the way rather quickly. Here's to a brighter future!”.
However, every week we've been here, something big has gone wrong. The following weekend, on November 28th, there was another sewage backup, which presented more issues that were unseen at the first clearing out, and while the sewer company got us functioning, they said there was more work they would finish after the home warranty agency reimbursed us. Next our water heater went out on December 12th and we went almost a week before it was replaced. That same day, December 18th, the sewer company came back to finish clearing the line and it ended up that a large section of the pipe collapsed and couldn’t be fully cleared. We had to call out to an excavation company who were able to come on December 30th to dig out and replace the broken section. Unfortunately, the sewer company was not able to identify the broken section clearly enough, so half our front yard had to be dug up (along with a section of our sidewalk that we need to take care of) and a 20 foot section of sewer line had to be replaced. Additionally another section was identified closer to the house, and while much less serious, will still need to be repaired sometime in the spring.
I remarked to Christina that I feel a little bit like George Bailey. We bought a place that needs some TLC and has opportunity to be built up, but there's so much more to it, and then to have to put so much into it with huge, unforeseen problems, we're struggling and we are now reaching out to our village for help. I don't post on social media often, and when I do, it's usually a meme or something to try to bring a laugh to people during this bleak time... but here we are, coming to you all in supplication and hope that some of you would be willing to help us out in this dark hour.
Needless to say, our savings are gone. We are at the end of the rope at what should be a joyous season of our lives and right around the holidays! Had these things happened individually, spread out over some time, I think we would have been able to handle it, but we hope that the end of this year marks the end of the major troubles for long enough to build our savings again. We know that troubles at this level don't last forever and we so look forward to having you all out to our much larger cozy abode and, despite everything, are thrilled to have a place to call our own!
We need $2005 to cover the December excavation, $2000 for the repair coming in the spring, and $1000 for GFM fees and other related expenses. We hope to have the majority of these funds raised by February 1st as the bill for this December work will be coming due around then, and the remaining funds will be put towards the spring repair with the excavating company. Please help us meet our goal before then! Cash and checks are also welcome from those willing and able to drive by!
Please. Be our Clarence. Be our Annie, our Harry, our COMMUNITY.
Organizer
Nick Rudlong
Organizer
Dodge Center, MN