Thank you for donating to my personal fundraising page! Together we will [Re]Charge our neighborhoods.
I'm excited to fundraise in support of Rebuilding Together Seattle's work. I first became aware of them when I saw this video on Facebook showing their work in action: https://fb.watch/4VOg65WSRd/ Seeing that video reminded me of my friend and neighbor Ernie. Erie was the first neighbor to greet me when I moved across the street from him in 2011. He'd lived in his house for over 40 years and was able to tell me a lot about the history of my house and the various people who had lived there over the years. Ernie had a big personality, a gruff voice, was hard working, and loved jazz. I'd hear him playing his music from across the street most days and sometimes, if he was feeling happy, he'd perform a little soft-shoe dance for me. He called me Marilyn Monroe because of my platinum blonde hair and it melted my heart every time. As Ernie got on in years, he became less and less able to keep up with the physical demands of maintaining his house and yard. Luckily he had a stepson who began to help. I remember thinking how lucky it was that his stepson was willing to take on more and more responsibility for Ernie's home as Ernie's heath declined. Without that help, Ernie would have had to move into a nursing home much earlier than he did, which meant he would have been far less happy and less emotionally healthy. I other words, he would not have been the funny, cantankerous, loud, and heart-of-gold neighbor I knew him to be.
When I see the positive impact RTS has on the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors I think of Ernie. I'm raising money in his memory.
Thank you!