My name is Beverly Phelps and I am fundraising to help my dear friend Arlene Lenhart, a local Senior Citizen, with funds to pay for an air conditioning system.

My friend Arlene is a retired early education and special education teacher. She taught in rural California Schools for more than 25 years before retiring to North Carolina. Sadly shortly after she and her husband Tom moved here, Tom passed away suddenly. That was in 2017, and since then Arlene has been living on her own, managing the best she can. Arlene is very gnerous and if truth be told gives more than she really can afford . She is also the first person to volunteer when any help is needed, and she is involved in many community organizations here in our area. She is active in her very small congreational church here, and her faith is very important to her. She lives her faith every day.

Her old AC system died three weeks ago in the middle of this awful heat wave we have going on here, and she simply does not have the money to pay for the new system. She is on a very modest fixed income, and rising costs have decimated her budget. She spent considerable money attempting to fix the system last year and has yet to pay that bill off. Unfortunately her 2 adult children are not in a position to help her with the expense. Arlene has finally arranged for a local company to install a brand new system at a reasonable cost but her only option to finance the system is on a credit card that charges an exorbitant interest rate therefore she will never get it paid off. I have searched high and low for assistance programs for her and am sad to say there is none to be had. I know that especially right now the need is tremoundous out there everywhere. but am asking all my family and friends to do what they can to help this dear lady out in her time of need. Anything you can donate would be of tremendous help. Sharing this fundraiser with your contacts would also be very helpful, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!