Week Two: Your generosity is rocking our world and restoring our faith.
August 8, 2010Last week, we were pretty blown away by the support for #saveteecycle. You bought enough T-shirts from Teecycle to get some cash rolling in to help Tim, Jess and Clara immediately, donated some excellent silent auction/raffle items and Sprecher Brewery generously donated their space for the September 18th fundraiser event. We were off to a stellar start and happy because Tim and Jess started feeling a bit of relief, from the wonderful support gathering around them. This week, though, you amazed us even more. We laughed, we cried, we talked about it over beer, and brats wrapped in bacon, and because Tim, Jess and Clara are who they are, we are more committed to this cause and determined to set their home right than ever.
If you’re still thinking about how you can help, perhaps some updates from week two will help you decide.
T-shirt donations kept coming in; huge thanks to AJ Bombers for acting as a primary T-shirt collection point and to Iron Cupcake Milwaukee for planning a special T-shirt drive on August 16th. One person commented that he was sorry they could “only donate T-shirts” because he is going through some hardship himself. Note: there is no such thing as only. Every t-shirt donated, every cash donation of any size, every silent auction or raffle item, every person that comes to the event MATTERS in a big way. Not just because Tim and Jess need to raise a lot of funds. But because, as Jess said, she was having a setback at the house yesterday, and “got through it by thinking of all the hope the kindness of friends, family and strangers have given us.”
Some cash donations came in as well. One person asked “how much do Tim and Jess need to raise?” We don’t know yet. Contractors are still doing assessments and estimates. The short and fast answer: a crazy large amount. We know for sure that the roof and all of the floors and baseboards need to be replaced, along with some or all of the windows. Plaster walls and the electrical wiring therein need to be repaired. Some of the furniture was ruined. The garage is pretty much totaled from standing water. The heating, ventilating and air conditioning are being evaluated for water contamination, in which case they will need to be replaced to restore air quality suitable for baby Clara. The backyard is pretty much a total washout, but that is the least of their worries right now. If we are lucky enough, in the end, to raise more than they need, the extra will be passed on to Tim and Jess’ neighbors, who sadly are in similar situations without the huge support network.
All of that, as you can imagine, is pretty overwhelming for Tim and Jess. But, enter many amazing supporters, and suddenly there is a rising swell of hope. It’s honestly difficult to find good enough words to express our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you. You each deserve a huge shout out but a few folks have gone so far above and beyond the “call of duty” that we’d like to share their absolutely awe-inspiring generosity with you in hopes that you will be inspired by it as we are. Feel free to get creative with your donations, as some of these folks have.
Craig Vermeulen of William Ryan Homes, @williamryanRE on Twitter, is working his butt off to secure building materials free where possible or at cost. He’s already confirmed some very expensive doors at no charge to Tim and Jess, as well as shingles and windows at cost, and is working on other materials. If you have a lead or a source for more help with building materials, please let us know. Craig is a Superman, but he can’t rebuild an entire house by himself. Well, he probably could, actually, but shouldn’t have to.
In other news, how’s this for an amazing moment of serendipity? When we got together with Tim and Jess Thursday night at a Team Challenge Wisconsin event to talk about how things are progressing, emotions were running high about their HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) situation. It is obviously unthinkable to take baby Clara back to a home with bad air quality. Turns out, the gentleman who happens to be sitting near us? HVAC CONTRACTOR. (Checking with him to see if we can publish his name.) Uh-huh. For real. We talked with him about the situation, followed up by the next day and he had already arranged for free air quality testing and full assessment of the furnace and air conditioning. It feels like the universe is working with us on this, and all of you are pushing it along!
Also want to give a shout out to Theresa Nemetz of Milwaukee Food Tours, @MKEFoodTour on Twitter. We are not professional fundraisers; we just play them on Twitter. Theresa is giving very generously of her time to help with the execution of the silent auction/raffle and has already helped bring in some pretty special items. We are definitely still looking for more items, so please let one of us know if you have an idea or something to donate. Earlier this week, the awesome Tweetup Girls auctioned off a pair of PGA passes on with the proceeds going to Save Teecycle; they even matched the funds themselves.
The love came from supporters in the Hoosier State, as well, where Girls Pint Out organized a fundraiser event at Sun King Brewery and delivered diapers, wipes, clothes and gift cards to Tim, Clara and Jess’ door. Many thanks for Tamre Mullins aka @holliesmommie and Leah aka @lshef.
We were very touched yesterday when Jeff Carrigan of Big Shoes Network reached out to us, after already donating generously to the silent auction, because he wants to do more. So, Big Shoes Network will be donating a portion of the sales of each job posting on their site September 1-17 to Save Teecycle. Wow. We’d love to see more of that.
Again, our intent here is not at all to single out one donation as some how “better” than another and we hope you won’t take it that way. We hope to spread the awesomeness that we’ve been experiencing and in the process inspire more of you to give whatever you can. Please keep the kindness coming. Thank you!!!
