Fund a Family
Donation protected
Several years ago when I was a pastor in Leonard, Texas, I met a family that has become very important to me. Mom Pearlie had 5 kids and one on the way. They lived right behind the church in a house that looked to me like it was falling down. Initially Pearlie had asked for help getting the water connected; which the church was able to help with. Over time I got to know Pearlie and her kids. She asked for help occasionally, but never until it was absolutely necessary and never more than really needed. During her pregnancy I took her to most of her doctor's appointments and was going to be at the birth, but Roziah decided to come when I was on vacation!
Even though the house looked like a shack to me, Pearlie made it as clean and comfortable as possible for her children, painting the inside with paint leftover by the landlord, planting flowers outside and always keeping it fresh and clean. I was amazed that she could do that with all those kids!
When I moved back to my home in Denton County to be with my husband (I had been living in the parsonage in Leonard) I continued my relationship with this family. I became the representative payee for Pearlie and got to know all of the kids.
My husband died unexpectedly in March 2014 (I found him one Sunday afternoon in the living room) and I was left with a large 4 bedroom house, far too big for me to take care of. My son and I used insurance money to pay cash for a smaller house closer in to Dallas.
I decided to ask Pearlie and her family if they wanted to move into my house. I wanted them to be able to live in a place that was safe and had good schools for the kids. I also hoped that eventually Pearlie and Lee ( her guy) would be able to find jobs (once the kids were old enough). I told her I would not charge any more than they were paying for the shack ($300). I also charge another $300 a month for utilities.
Pearlie and her family moved last August and the kids have done extremely well at school, in fact they all had perfect attendance. Pearlie is an excellent mother and even with the 6 kids keeps the house cleaner than I ever did. The problem is that my expenses for the house exceed what Pearlie can pay. She only gets about $1450 per month. $600 for rent and utilities is way cheaper than anything else she could get, but is still difficult to pay. And my expenses on the house with mortgage and utilities run about $2000 a month (somewhat more in the winter months). I have been willing to take the financial hit because it just doesn't seem fair to me that I should have comparatively so much and this beautiful family has so little. I used to preach about the Kingdom of God and how we needed to share with our brothers and sisters and I am trying to do that.
Now I need to sell the house and Pearlie and family will need to move. I am trying to rent a smaller house in the neighborhood for them. I expect I will have to put up most of the year's rent in order to get them approved. *
[UPDATE: We were not able to rent the other house. So we are back to needing approximately $1200 a month to cover the expenses. This also means that I cannot access the equity in the house. Note that I am living in a smaller house in Plano where the expenses are fairly low. However, I have finished all the jobs I had lined up and am now seeking employment myself. The good news is that Lee now has a job that will hopefully become full time soon!Yay!]
Hence this GoFundMe campaign. I know that there are shelters and places they could go, but if they were my children/grandchildren I would do everything I could to help. The money raised will be used to fund their housing for the next year, so that they will have a chance to find jobs that will keep them going for the longer term.
For more information see my blogpost .
Check out the rewards! For Levels 2 and 3 you can donate as a class or group. For Level 4 you can donate as a church. There are a few blackout dates when I am either teaching (end of July, beginning of August) or will be in Seattle for the birth of my grandchild (late September). Also, you must be within a 60 mile radius of Plano for Levels 1, 2, and 4.
Even though the house looked like a shack to me, Pearlie made it as clean and comfortable as possible for her children, painting the inside with paint leftover by the landlord, planting flowers outside and always keeping it fresh and clean. I was amazed that she could do that with all those kids!
When I moved back to my home in Denton County to be with my husband (I had been living in the parsonage in Leonard) I continued my relationship with this family. I became the representative payee for Pearlie and got to know all of the kids.
My husband died unexpectedly in March 2014 (I found him one Sunday afternoon in the living room) and I was left with a large 4 bedroom house, far too big for me to take care of. My son and I used insurance money to pay cash for a smaller house closer in to Dallas.
I decided to ask Pearlie and her family if they wanted to move into my house. I wanted them to be able to live in a place that was safe and had good schools for the kids. I also hoped that eventually Pearlie and Lee ( her guy) would be able to find jobs (once the kids were old enough). I told her I would not charge any more than they were paying for the shack ($300). I also charge another $300 a month for utilities.
Pearlie and her family moved last August and the kids have done extremely well at school, in fact they all had perfect attendance. Pearlie is an excellent mother and even with the 6 kids keeps the house cleaner than I ever did. The problem is that my expenses for the house exceed what Pearlie can pay. She only gets about $1450 per month. $600 for rent and utilities is way cheaper than anything else she could get, but is still difficult to pay. And my expenses on the house with mortgage and utilities run about $2000 a month (somewhat more in the winter months). I have been willing to take the financial hit because it just doesn't seem fair to me that I should have comparatively so much and this beautiful family has so little. I used to preach about the Kingdom of God and how we needed to share with our brothers and sisters and I am trying to do that.
Now I need to sell the house and Pearlie and family will need to move. I am trying to rent a smaller house in the neighborhood for them. I expect I will have to put up most of the year's rent in order to get them approved. *
[UPDATE: We were not able to rent the other house. So we are back to needing approximately $1200 a month to cover the expenses. This also means that I cannot access the equity in the house. Note that I am living in a smaller house in Plano where the expenses are fairly low. However, I have finished all the jobs I had lined up and am now seeking employment myself. The good news is that Lee now has a job that will hopefully become full time soon!Yay!]
Hence this GoFundMe campaign. I know that there are shelters and places they could go, but if they were my children/grandchildren I would do everything I could to help. The money raised will be used to fund their housing for the next year, so that they will have a chance to find jobs that will keep them going for the longer term.
For more information see my blogpost .
Check out the rewards! For Levels 2 and 3 you can donate as a class or group. For Level 4 you can donate as a church. There are a few blackout dates when I am either teaching (end of July, beginning of August) or will be in Seattle for the birth of my grandchild (late September). Also, you must be within a 60 mile radius of Plano for Levels 1, 2, and 4.
Organizer
Martha Myre
Organizer
Plano, TX