She is a single mom who in June, was in a terrible car accident.  She moved back in with her parents while she is trying to get back on her feet.

She has had several surgeries and many complications and is still in the hospital having just had her head opened back up to drain fluid.

It is highly likely now at this point that she will be in constant need of medical attention.  The hospital is trying to move her to a nursing home and the family has had to contract some legal help to keep her there until her condition stabilizes.

The medical bills have now surpassed $1 million and there is fear that they (the parents) will loose their home.  On top of all of this, she has not been able to work much due to the time she has spent at the hospital. Unfortunately, she is employed in a 100% commission based sales job.

Woman in her early 50’s was just diagnosed with a rapidly growing, inoperable brain tumor.

They have two wonderful daughters.  She only began having symptoms last month with headaches but attributed them to stress due to her job situation.  She had been with the same employer for 20 years and was laid off due to the fact that she was at the top of the pay scale for her job and they wanted to cut costs. 

A couple of weeks ago, she had been helping her daughter paint the nursery for her new baby who is due in November.  The girls noticed she was seeming to forget things.  Some friends were coming to her home that evening and when one called to get directions Sue was unable to give them and began crying not knowing what was wrong.  They brought her to the hospital that evening.

The family does have health insurance but it will not even come close to cover all the expenses and upcoming treatments they need to use to try to slow down or stop the growth.  She keeps asking them why she is in the hospital and when they tell her she lives the shock over and over, she wants to be here to see and hold her new grandchild.

This is a wonderful family who have always tried to do everything right, they have always been extremely involved with their two daughters, they are a very close and loving family.  I hope that you will submit this information in hope that the foundation might be able to help with some of the financial burden the family is dealing with in addition to all the emotional aspects of what they are going through.  I think about her wanting to be there for her daughters and grandchildren, about her husband, and his fears of losing the woman he has made his life with, and the girls, who even though they are in there 20’s still need there mom, especially now.

She is in her mid-thirties.  At age 27, a virus attached both of her kidneys.  As a result, she had to have a kidney transplant.  Her brother donated his kidney.

Now, nine years later, her body has rejected the kidney.  Her kidney is currently functioning at 20% capacity.  As a result, her energy level is very low and she often does not feel good.  The shots she gets adds to her discomfort and fatigue.  The overall result is that she is unable to work, which has resulted in significant financial problems for the family.

The University of Minnesota is currently working with her to locate another donor and prepare her for another transplant.

They have two young children—a first grade daughter and a son who is about fifth grade.

They are struggling financially such that his father is substantially subsidizing their house payments on a monthly basis.

I know that a charitable contribution would not only be greatly appreciated, but also is very much needed.

They had been married for only 15 months when, at age 23, he was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  (Stage 5 is terminal.) Because of his severe illness, he had to withdraw from college where he was pursuing a BA in criminal justice.

He started chemo in January of 2004 and it took several rounds before he saw any results.  He continues to get his tests and check ups, but his illness is far from over.  He continues daily to battle cancer and the illnesses and infections that his body is to weak to fight because of the cancer.  It continues to affect his health so that he cannot recover from a simple cold.  He has to miss a lot of work because of his illness.  He has used up all of his sick days on MRI’s, CT’s, bone marrow tests, and chemo.  Despite his illness, he has re-enrolled in on-line college and will graduate from Concordia in Feb. 2007.  He has faced more at the age of 25 then most people will face in their whole life.  She has just obtained her teaching degree and is looking for full time employment, however has not been successful and is currently working part time.

They are very frugal with their money, and do not waste it.  Because of their limited income and his continued illness, they struggle to pay their monthly bills.

This is a young couple that continues to face illness and adversity every day.  They do not deserve any of the struggles that they are facing, yet they face them with a positive attitude, good character, and strength of will.  They have stuck together and have not given up.  They continue to press forward as well as they can.

I would like to request the use of some of the foundation funds to help ease their daily struggles. 

They bought their home in 2005.  The home was built in 1953 and the windows and furnace desperately need to be replaced.  Because of their difficulty with meeting monthly expenses, they have been unable to perform any of these much needed updates.

I respectfully request that we earmark some substantial funds to help with their monthly housing expenses and/or the updates.  The updates would increase their quality of living substantially over the long haul.

There is an organization that was founded a year ago called Twinkling Angels.  It is in memory of Madison and Parker Thurner who tragically passed away in a van fire about 3 or 4 years ago.  This organization helps with hospitals for children that need assistance in recovery from injuries, dream camps for children that have been severely injured, for memorials for families that have lost children and can’t afford a funeral or memorial, family counseling, purchasing smoke detectors in homes for families that cannot afford them, among other children related medical issues.

While this idea it is not directly related to housing I think it could have a big impact on housing.  We should find one or two daycare centers (probably in a church because of the non-profit status) and offer a scholarship for a single parent or family who needs both parents working to make ends meet. I believe if someone had to choose between making their mortgage payment and paying the daycare they will choose the daycare and risk loosing their home to make sure their child is safe during the day.

Day care costs can be close to $5,000 a year per child this would make a big change in someone’s life if they were able to work without worrying about their child’s wellbeing.  I believe the church would know someone in this situation that would be grateful for the assistance and the money would go to directly benefit the family. I would like to see two or three scholarships at $3,000 a piece and ask the church to cover the remainder.   What a great Christmas gift for a family to know that next year they won’t have to worry about paying for daycare.

This gift wouldn’t need to be anonymous in the fact that we gave X amount to Y Daycare, from that point forward it would be anonymous as to who received the scholarship.

Below is a list of things done as part of the Dorothy project.  Not only was it a missions / service project, but many others (about 75) got involved as well.

We are hopeful of being able to do this kind of thing again next summer and would be very grateful if Edina Realty would be helpful in making it possible.

We would establish a separate fund specifically for this purpose, to be used only for this purpose. As you can see from the list below, not only were there a lot of volunteer hours involved, there was also a great need for specific items and financial help.

It would be great to partner with Edina Realty to help a needy person have a livable home.