Flooded Laughons

Jenny Laughon is organizing this fundraiser.

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#FloodedLaughons

During the severe storms affecting the mid-Atlantic region, a flash flood occurred and devastated our family home in Roanoke, Virginia on Memorial Day Weekend.

Our home is a four-storey split level, including the basement. During the 17 foot surge, the flood waters nearly reached the second storey, submerging the car, filling the basement, and destroying the first floor, where my middle son's bedroom is located.

A door was ripped off its hinges. The stairs to the back deck were pulled off by the waters. In addition to the damage to the floors, walls, and foundation, our electric and HVAC systems are ruined.

We have flood insurance that covers the dwelling alone; however, the deductible to recieve coverage is $5,000.00

Insurance does not cover the loss of all of our belongings.

My middle son, Jamison, has lost everything in his room, including all of his bedroom furniture, clothing, and personal belongings, including his bass guitar. Even the day after the flood, he went to his shift at work to be able to start replacing everything he lost.

Additionally, we have lost furniture, electronics, all of my husband's tools, our exercise equipment, our washer/dryer, and so many irreplaceable things. We expect to be displaced for quite some time and will struggle to afford the out-of-pocket expenses and cost of care in hotel rooms for all of us, so my middle son is staying with his girlfriend, my youngest is staying with a friend so he can finish the school year, and our dogs are with a friend.

My eldest son, Jonathan, and his partner, Emily, are in graduate school in Scotland with their five-year-old son. They stored all of their furniture and belongings, including precious keepsakes like all of their son's baby things, in our basement. When they come back to the US, they will be trying to find jobs to pay back their student loans and have nothing other than what they took with them in their suitcases.

We are praying for an additional $5,000.00 to help us replace and rebuild everything we lost and $5,000.00 more to help my eldest and his family replace what they lost in storage.

We are so blessed and grateful that we have each other. We were away visiting my father when the flood hit, so we are all safe. My very brave stepson, Sam, waded through the floodwaters and broke in a window to save our dogs. He said it looked like our house was an island in the middle of a river.

I am a self-employed mother of three boys and my husband is a parts counter lead at a farm equipment company and has two grown kids as well. We barely make ends meet as it is, and cannot afford the cost of this natural disaster. We have lived in our home for nearly ten years, and we still have the two youngest boys living at home. Thoughts and prayers are appreciated, but donations of any kind would truly help us rebuild what we have lost in this disaster -- even small amounts add up and we appreciate anything you are able to contribute.