Hi, my name is Kim Ford, and I am fundraising for the Miller family in the Wasilla, Alaska area. I have had the privilege of working with Julie Miller for several years at HeartReach, a local pregnancy and family resource center non-profit ministry that serves the community. She was (and still is) a volunteer there who coordinates the Market, oversees and processes all in-kind donations, trains and supervises volunteers in the Market and sorting area, and organizes the big Client Christmas Event held each December, serving between 60 and 80 families. She plans all year for this event, shopping and collecting gifts for others in order to make their Christmas extra special. Her teenage daughter also volunteers at the center regularly.

I happened to see Julie last week and asked how she was doing. I was not expecting to hear the tough times she was experiencing, since she is normally one of the most jovial people I know. I pushed past her attempt at humor and drew out her story. I left with a heavy heart and a desire to help. I asked the family's permission to share their story for the purpose of trying to help raise funds for them. Here’s the shareable part of their story…

Matt and Julie have a piece of property that they own with Julie's mom. They built a cabin for the mom to live in, and then decided to build a home for themselves. For the past 2 years they have been living in a 5th wheel on the property, with their three kids, while going through the building process that was only supposed to take a few months.

They contracted with a local building contractor to build their new home. The couple took out the building loan and the contractor disappeared on them. Some of the work was done before he took the money for the project and left, but he has been in breach of their contract, leaving the home unfinished. The family is out well over $100,000 and is still paying the high interest rate monthly construction loan payments on an unfinished, unlivable house. Matt works on the slope and puts in as much work on his time off as possible.

During this time Julie had to have surgery for a broken nose and a nasal growth that was greatly affecting her breathing and creating pain. Prior to the surgery she signed the pre-surgical document stating the doctor would not be liable for reasonable damage done during the surgery, and listed some of the possible outcomes. Julie was unfortunate enough to have multiple front teeth broken during the surgery and the doctor is not liable for the cost of fixing her teeth. Her beautiful smile is missing at the moment and is estimated at $5,000 to fix.

When I offered to help her by looking into legal representation, I learned that it would require a legal retainer fee of at least $10,000 just to get started taking this contractor on legally. Currently the Miller family faces the possibility of losing their property, which will then also include the place where Julie's mom lives.

Sharing their story publicly is difficult for them but they are at the place where they need the help from their community. Their church is small and helps in whatever ways it can. Julie has coordinated the VBS in years past, and is a volunteer in her church as well. Additionally, many people in the dog show world will know Julie and her kids because of their dogs and participation in dog competitions. They are a community-driven family, and just good people.

I hope you'll join me in helping financially. Even $10, $20 is a vote of confidence that says you stand behind them and want to show support in their time of need. If enough people in the community contribute, we will meet our goal of helping them secure a lawyer to fight their case and to hopefully have enough to also cover the cost of fixing Julie's teeth.

The family will be determining what needs to be done most with the money, meaning they will decide whether they take care of dental first or legal first (if it comes down to a choice). If there happens to be any remaining money it will go toward the cost of completing the home.

I hope our community can come alongside them to help make justice affordable for them (as well as health for Julie's teeth) and want them to be able to keep their property and move into a finished house. They are super-hard workers, have adopted one of their children, and do their all to take care of family as well as improve the lives of other families. Please consider a donation of any size to encourage their hearts and help them out in their time of crisis.

Thank you for reading, and please pray for the Millers.