Hi, our names are Andrew and Judith. We had just moved to Haw River, North Carolina in June, excited to start a new chapter in our lives. But in the early hours of July 7th, everything changed.

At around midnight, we were awoken by our dog barking wildly. What we thought might have been a burst pipe turned into our worst nightmare — water was rushing into our home from Tropical Depression Chantal. Within minutes, it was everywhere.

I raced downstairs to rescue our two dogs and than went upstairs to help my wife gather anything we could before the water got higher. By the time we tried to leave, the floodwater was already nearly four feet deep. The flooring had come loose and was floating. My wife doesn't know how to swim, so I cleared a path through the debris, tossing wooden planks aside so she could wade out safely. Then I went back to carry our Mini Aussie (not so mini at 40 lbs) and lead our little family out through the back sliding door — just as more water kept pouring in.

Once the sun came up and we were finally able to return, we saw the full damage. There was a water line nearly five feet high throughout the house. Floors destroyed, furniture ruined, walls soaked. We lost so much — and like many others in the area, we didn’t have flood insurance because we were not in a designated flood zone. This disaster hit completely out of nowhere.

We are reaching out with humble hearts to ask for any help you can give. Every donation will go directly to helping us rebuild what we’ve lost — to replace essentials, repair our home, and get back on our feet. We’re grateful to be safe, but now we need help starting over.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story. Anything you can give — even just sharing this — means the world to us.

With gratitude,
Andrew, Judith, and our pups

UPDATE

Thank you to everyone that’s helped and reached out to us! We have everything demoed on the first floor and have the professional cleaners in today, July 24th. This is all thanks to everyone’s blessings. We still have a long way ahead, but we are moving ahead one step at a time. More updates to come.