Help the Burke Family
Donation protected
Bruce and Louise Burke and their wonderful family, who have been members of the Port Washington community for decades, have just lost their home. As their neighbors, we are rallying around them but we need many more of you to as well so that they can get on steady ground.
The home they lost is the one that Bruce grew up in; its walls are marked with his height throughout his childhood and the heights of all three of his and Louise's children. Bruce and Louise purchased it 14 years ago so that they could raise their daughters Courtney, Abigail, and Jessica in the same house and community that Bruce and his brothers so loved growing up in.
Their mortgage however was with a predatory lender who heartlessly took advantage of them at a particular low point for the family with just their clothing in bags. They are currently all sheltering on the living-room floor of one of our kind neighbors.
A Challenging Time
There is no good time to go through such a thing, but for the Burkes, it could not have been a worse one. Abigail, their middle daughter, suffers from a pediatric neurotransmitter disorder and her already fragile state has been exacerbated by an illness for the past three months. Even on good days, Abigail cannot walk, talk, or feed herself. While she is 14 years old, she is 4'3" and weighs only 46 pounds.
Though Abigail cannot express herself with words, Bruce, Louise, Courtney, and Jessica understand her and are always there to care for her. They know when she wants to watch the bright colors and hear the happy music of her beloved Dora the Explorer and Blue's Clues and when she wants to sit quietly and snuggle with her favorite stuffed animal. It is hard to pinpoint just one light in this family, but certainly Abigail is the warm glow that surrounds them all.
A Home for Abigail
But without securing a three-bedroom home rental immediately, social services will take Abigail away from the Burkes and place her in a facility miles and miles away in another county. The Burkes have only an unreliable 16-year-old car for transportation, which will make seeing her difficult. Abigail will have no one to look after her with the love and attention her family provides and they will be bereft of their daughter and sister.
Her father Bruce will miss her baby-blue eyes and brushing her hair and her mother Louise will miss her belly laugh and charming smile. Courtney will miss watching Abigail curl up peacefully while she sleeps and Jessica will miss the feel of her baby-soft skin when she strokes her cheeks. Please join us in gathering the funds needed to keep the Burkes together.
They want nothing more than to go back to enjoying their family movie nights in a living room of their own, playing cards around their dining-room table, and planting a vegetable garden with Abigail and their border collie Bailey sitting in the sun with them.
You can give that to them. Thank you.
The home they lost is the one that Bruce grew up in; its walls are marked with his height throughout his childhood and the heights of all three of his and Louise's children. Bruce and Louise purchased it 14 years ago so that they could raise their daughters Courtney, Abigail, and Jessica in the same house and community that Bruce and his brothers so loved growing up in.
Their mortgage however was with a predatory lender who heartlessly took advantage of them at a particular low point for the family with just their clothing in bags. They are currently all sheltering on the living-room floor of one of our kind neighbors.
A Challenging Time
There is no good time to go through such a thing, but for the Burkes, it could not have been a worse one. Abigail, their middle daughter, suffers from a pediatric neurotransmitter disorder and her already fragile state has been exacerbated by an illness for the past three months. Even on good days, Abigail cannot walk, talk, or feed herself. While she is 14 years old, she is 4'3" and weighs only 46 pounds.
Though Abigail cannot express herself with words, Bruce, Louise, Courtney, and Jessica understand her and are always there to care for her. They know when she wants to watch the bright colors and hear the happy music of her beloved Dora the Explorer and Blue's Clues and when she wants to sit quietly and snuggle with her favorite stuffed animal. It is hard to pinpoint just one light in this family, but certainly Abigail is the warm glow that surrounds them all.
A Home for Abigail
But without securing a three-bedroom home rental immediately, social services will take Abigail away from the Burkes and place her in a facility miles and miles away in another county. The Burkes have only an unreliable 16-year-old car for transportation, which will make seeing her difficult. Abigail will have no one to look after her with the love and attention her family provides and they will be bereft of their daughter and sister.
Her father Bruce will miss her baby-blue eyes and brushing her hair and her mother Louise will miss her belly laugh and charming smile. Courtney will miss watching Abigail curl up peacefully while she sleeps and Jessica will miss the feel of her baby-soft skin when she strokes her cheeks. Please join us in gathering the funds needed to keep the Burkes together.
They want nothing more than to go back to enjoying their family movie nights in a living room of their own, playing cards around their dining-room table, and planting a vegetable garden with Abigail and their border collie Bailey sitting in the sun with them.
You can give that to them. Thank you.
Organizer
Louise Burke
Organizer
Port Washington, NY
