Sanofi Family Helping Harvey Family

Grit and gumption, that's what we are made of. There is no question that we will get through this with flying colors! Those colors will be the Lone Star Flag flying red white and blue! During the moments before during and after the storm our colleagues from all over the nation reached out to the Houston team making sure that we were safe from Harvey and out of harm’s way. The amount of love and compassion that was shared from our Sanofi Family was so humbling and made each and every one of us feel special. Daily we kept in contact with our Sanofi families and daily they kept us in their prayers and thoughts. Fast forward a grueling week later, we are absolutely in the horrifying wreck that Harvey left in his wake. The best news we have is that the Houston Division was minimally affected but that did not slow anyone down. Immediately we were out there with masks, hammers, garbage bags, and saws helping our neighbors rip out the remnants of their homes and toss it to the curb.

Many of you have asked what you can do to help. There are several families we have identified that are in desperate and immediate need. The Houston Division thought it would be great to help these families out by adopting them and contributing to their needs financially. The amount of money needed will be way beyond our means, but anything will help. We welcome you to read their stories and know that you are directly helping them. As we raise funds, we will immediately withdraw money and donate it to the family based on their needs. It may be a Home Depot gift card, a MasterCard/Visa gift card, back to school supplies for their kids, or maybe the family needs a gift card to their favorite restaurant just to get a sense of normalcy back into their life. We will constantly update the website with pictures and information, so you know how each family’s needs are being met. Our initial goal is anywhere from $500-1000 a family. If we get more we will take on new families. If you have a relative or close friend that was affected by Harvey, please let us know and we can add them to our list! Our division loves and appreciates their Sanofi family and this is why our fund was started….we can make a difference.

https://www.gofundme.com/sanofi-family-helping-harvey-family

Thank you all again for considering making a donation to these specific families effected by Hurricane Harvey.



Meet our Families


From Bianca Thomas:

Melinda and Chad-

Hundreds of thousands of good, hard working people have been devastated in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.  Chad and Melinda are no exception to this fact.  Harvey came barreling into Southeast Texas with a vengeance and left nothing but destruction in its path.  Chad and Melinda had just finished renovating their one story home from the damage of the tax floods in 2016.  They had hoped and prayed that Harvey wouldn’t be as bad, or maybe not too bad like the tax floods (they got 18 inches of water in their house during the tax floods……..thats “not too bad” for them).  Unfortunately Harvey had other plans……..the storm came……it came fast and with a vengeance.  Sunday afternoon as Harvey was barreling through southeast Texas, it was clear they had no choice but to abandon their home with their 3 children, 7 year old twins and an 11 year old.  The home they had just renovated was about to be engulfed yet again by relentless water.  The water rose and it rose fast.  They had just enough time to get clothes, some toys for their children, and some personal sentimental items.  They put these items in the boat they escaped on and looked back at their house and prayed for a miracle.  They prayed Harvey would have mercy on their home……….that maybe their damage wouldn’t be bad, maybe it would be like last time.  As the storm passed and the water receded enough for them to return to see their house, what they found was worse than before, much worse.  Six and a half feet had completely engulfed their home and they had lost everything!   Anguish, fear, and the unknown quickly took over and they were devastated.  However, as quickly as these terrifying emotions over took them, they were replaced with happiness and joy.  Happy that they were alive, and joyful to be together with their family. 

Chad and Melinda are very private humble people who do not look for handouts, but rather give them.  In fact, Chad was out rescuing people not minutes after his escape from his own flooded home.  They have filed a claim with FEMA, but as you can imagine, the approval process can be very time consuming.  Please consider reaching into your hearts and your pockets to help this family as they have helped so many others before.

                

Kelley and Ralph
Kelley and Ralph are some of the most genuine people you could ever know.  Just good, hard working, God loving people.  They have been married for over 30 years and have two children and 4 grandchildren.  Both still continue to work full-time jobs and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon, Ralph in construction and Kelley for a shipping company.  They have known devastation before…….Their house had significant water damage in the 2016 tax floods.  Unfortunately Harvey wasn’t as merciful with their home.  They got over 3 feet of water in their house.  They have been completely displaced and are currently working to try and renovate their home yet again.  Because Kelley has severe respiratory issues, they have to be completely out of the house until all renovations are complete.  Kelley also works from home, so this becomes difficult to manage.  They have been given an RV to use on their property while the renovations take place which could take some time.  They have filed a claim with FEMA, but the approval process can be very time consuming, and there is no way of knowing how much they will be approved for.  As you can see in the pictures, their damage is significant and will take a lot of time and money to complete.  Please consider donating to help this lovely couple get back into their home. 
 

From Amy Minter (her Aunts):


Lois and Barry have 2 daughters, Brittany and Marissa that live in Orange, Texas.  They received 5 foot of flood water in their home and are with out flood insurance.

Linda and Tommy are also from Orange, Texas and had 7 foot of flood water in their home.  They do not have flood insurance either.
               

From Joey Bender:

  The Elises 
With the unfortunate Houston flood, Jeff & Lorin's home and two cars are completely underwater, with water rising more than likely to the second story. They are thankful to have flood insurance, but this will take weeks possibly months to be able to get into their home to start the adjusting and rebuilding process! They are not sure the maximum insurance payout will cover the magnitude of loss, any donations would help cover some of the gap they are about to be faced with. If you would like to donate, money would be the easiest at this time so they can use it for immediate needs. This money is a last resort for Jeff and Lorin. If it's all not needed, remainder will be donated to the Houston Flood Relief Efforts. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you and God Bless!

From Scott Smejkal:

Shane and his family purchased their home on August 4th, along with flood insurance.  It did not go into affect for 30 days.  When they figured out they were going to flood, they purchased the Aqua Dam to protect their home, it failed because of the backfill through the septic system, there was not enough time to get items out.  The family will have to pay for all the repairs themselves, which they have begun doing with the removal of soaked items, sheet rock and insulation.  Whatever we could do would be awesome.


From Shawna Denkhaus (San Antonio Division):

Debbie & her fiancé Brion lost their house to hurricane Harvey.  Debbie is a teacher and Brion sells patio furniture so they don’t have a lot of money.  Debbie worked fulltime to put herself through school, it took her 17 YEARS but she is finally a teacher!  Last year was her 1st year teaching and she won an award because she is an amazing teacher.  I feel bad because she lost all of her books, all of the teaching supplies that she has been saving for and buying for the last 10 years that she only got to us for ONE year!

Debbie came to stay with us during the hurricane and Brion stayed home to make sure the house and pets would be ok.  Brion grew up in their house and it never flooded before in over 45 Years!  We found out Sunday morning that water came into the house FAST and he a little time to get their 2 cats (Lucky and Squeaky) and their bird (Billy) into cages and then call for rescue.  He had to be picked up in a boat!  Later that day we got a text from a neighbor saying there was smoke coming from the house.  We were hoping the rain and flood waters would put out the fire, but it didn’t.  She saw a picture posted on Facebook of her house on fire and we all cried.

To lose a house to a flood and to have the hope of possibly recovering SOMETHING from the watery mess is one thing but, to then find out the house caught fire and praying that the flood waters and rain would douse the fire and that maybe, just maybe, there would be something left, to finding out the entire house burned to the ground was just one blow too many. 

They lost their home, cars, teaching supplies, clothes, EVERYTHING!  Any and all help is so very much appreciated.