Fire relief for Whimsy and grace, home and studio
Donation protected
Beloved needlepoint designer Toni Randall of "Whimsy and grace" lost her home and studio in the catastrophic Almeda fire in Talent, Oregon, September 8, 2020.
We are deeply grateful to the more than 600 generous souls who have made gifts to support our mom’s basic needs and help her rebuild her business after the Almeda fire in Talent, Oregon. We have met our fundraising goal!
Given that we have reached our stated goal we ask that you consider directing any new gifts to others in need. So many in our mom’s community have lost everything and have nothing to fall back on. We humbly recommend the following opportunities to make a tangible difference:
· The Dilansa family , who helped our mother escape the fire, also lost their home.
· Mom’s small parish, Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church, is providing at least 100 bags of food per day, housing for displaced families, and other forms of humanitarian assistance. You can support their efforts by contributing to the and writing “fire relief” in the notes field.
· Samaritans Purse has mobilized staff and equipment and enlisted scores of volunteers to provide emergency aid in our mom’s community. A dozen caring volunteers sifted through the ashes of our mother’s former home, searching for anything that may have survived the flames, while also ministering to her emotional and spiritual needs.
· GoFundMe has launched a relief fund specifically for those impacted by the fires in Oregon.
We will continue to keep this GoFundMe page open for those who still wish to designate their gift specifically towards our mom’s recovery. Thank you!
Our hearts are full with gratitude as we share that our mother, Toni Randall — the creative force behind Whimsy and grace, grandmother of six, and a cherished elder in her Orthodox church community — is safe following a catastrophic wildfire on September 8 that destroyed her home and much of her town of Talent, Oregon. With almost no warning, our mom had to evacuate her home and studio as the Almeda wildfire , driven by 45-mile-per hour wind gusts, tore through her neighborhood. The devastation of this fire in our mom’s community is beyond comprehension -- an estimated 2300 homes in the towns of Talent and Phoenix are destroyed. We thank God that our mom is safe.
Our mom lost not only the home she had rented for eight years and all her worldly belongings — her treasures from almost 80 years of life — but her painting studio, her exquisite stitched models, inventory, threads, embellishments, and many of the master canvases created during her 20 years in the industry. What’s important though, is that her creative talent is unstoppable, and her life-long love for the art of needlepoint and for the needlepoint community remains constant.
How you can help
We humbly ask for gifts to help our mom in two main areas. First, to help meet her basic needs as she gets back on her feet ($20,000). She has lost absolutely everything. Second, to help her recreate (both stitching and finishing) her elegant models and to reestablish her studio and business operations ($40,000). She will be staying temporarily in her daughter Mara’s home in Ashland, Oregon. Stitchers can also assist by stitching Whimsy and grace models, which our mom uses to inspire stitchers through trunk shows and markets. If you would like to stitch a model, please indicate your interest through email on this site.
Loving friends and a harrowing evacuation
With all our hearts, we thank our mother’s next-door neighbor Kathy Whitt, who pounded on our mom’s door to tell her to prepare to evacuate and returned twenty minutes later to insist that she leave immediately. Without a doubt, Kathy saved our mother’s life. We thank friends Jodie and Kiva Dilansa, the mother and daughter duo who rushed to our mom’s home and helped her get her medications, laptop, and a change of clothes in the car, something that would have been very difficult for our mom to do quickly, given her mobility challenges. A big shout out to Mara, who from California FaceTimed with our mom for six hours, helping her navigate 31 miles of traffic-clogged back roads from Talent to Rogue River — as the interstate closed and the evacuation zone expanded — while our mom was chased by flames and frightening black smoke. And we are grateful to church friend Christina Roberts in Rogue River, who gave our mother and her dog pal Tabitha a safe haven. The Dilansa family and Kathy and her husband also lost their homes in the fire; we grieve for their losses as well as our mom’s, and we are grateful for every second they gave our mother at the expense of their own preparations to evacuate.
The Dilansa family, who helped our mom escape the fire, also lost their home. You can contribute to their Go Fund Me page here.
Twenty years ago, when our mom named her company Whimsy and grace, she was adamant that “grace” should not be capitalized, because she meant “grace” as a common noun, not a proper noun. Her desire was to bring beauty and elegance to everyone who stitches her canvases. We have loved watching her designs bring grace to so many people over the years. We are thankful for her safety, for those who helped her, and for her art, which will continue. And we are grateful for any help that you are able to provide.
With love and gratitude,
Her children:
Teri Randall (Seattle, Washington)
Mara (Ashland, Oregon)
Raymond and Kristi Randall (Winter Park, Florida)
We are deeply grateful to the more than 600 generous souls who have made gifts to support our mom’s basic needs and help her rebuild her business after the Almeda fire in Talent, Oregon. We have met our fundraising goal!
Given that we have reached our stated goal we ask that you consider directing any new gifts to others in need. So many in our mom’s community have lost everything and have nothing to fall back on. We humbly recommend the following opportunities to make a tangible difference:
· The Dilansa family , who helped our mother escape the fire, also lost their home.
· Mom’s small parish, Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church, is providing at least 100 bags of food per day, housing for displaced families, and other forms of humanitarian assistance. You can support their efforts by contributing to the and writing “fire relief” in the notes field.
· Samaritans Purse has mobilized staff and equipment and enlisted scores of volunteers to provide emergency aid in our mom’s community. A dozen caring volunteers sifted through the ashes of our mother’s former home, searching for anything that may have survived the flames, while also ministering to her emotional and spiritual needs.
· GoFundMe has launched a relief fund specifically for those impacted by the fires in Oregon.
We will continue to keep this GoFundMe page open for those who still wish to designate their gift specifically towards our mom’s recovery. Thank you!
Our hearts are full with gratitude as we share that our mother, Toni Randall — the creative force behind Whimsy and grace, grandmother of six, and a cherished elder in her Orthodox church community — is safe following a catastrophic wildfire on September 8 that destroyed her home and much of her town of Talent, Oregon. With almost no warning, our mom had to evacuate her home and studio as the Almeda wildfire , driven by 45-mile-per hour wind gusts, tore through her neighborhood. The devastation of this fire in our mom’s community is beyond comprehension -- an estimated 2300 homes in the towns of Talent and Phoenix are destroyed. We thank God that our mom is safe.
Our mom lost not only the home she had rented for eight years and all her worldly belongings — her treasures from almost 80 years of life — but her painting studio, her exquisite stitched models, inventory, threads, embellishments, and many of the master canvases created during her 20 years in the industry. What’s important though, is that her creative talent is unstoppable, and her life-long love for the art of needlepoint and for the needlepoint community remains constant.
How you can help
We humbly ask for gifts to help our mom in two main areas. First, to help meet her basic needs as she gets back on her feet ($20,000). She has lost absolutely everything. Second, to help her recreate (both stitching and finishing) her elegant models and to reestablish her studio and business operations ($40,000). She will be staying temporarily in her daughter Mara’s home in Ashland, Oregon. Stitchers can also assist by stitching Whimsy and grace models, which our mom uses to inspire stitchers through trunk shows and markets. If you would like to stitch a model, please indicate your interest through email on this site.
Loving friends and a harrowing evacuation
With all our hearts, we thank our mother’s next-door neighbor Kathy Whitt, who pounded on our mom’s door to tell her to prepare to evacuate and returned twenty minutes later to insist that she leave immediately. Without a doubt, Kathy saved our mother’s life. We thank friends Jodie and Kiva Dilansa, the mother and daughter duo who rushed to our mom’s home and helped her get her medications, laptop, and a change of clothes in the car, something that would have been very difficult for our mom to do quickly, given her mobility challenges. A big shout out to Mara, who from California FaceTimed with our mom for six hours, helping her navigate 31 miles of traffic-clogged back roads from Talent to Rogue River — as the interstate closed and the evacuation zone expanded — while our mom was chased by flames and frightening black smoke. And we are grateful to church friend Christina Roberts in Rogue River, who gave our mother and her dog pal Tabitha a safe haven. The Dilansa family and Kathy and her husband also lost their homes in the fire; we grieve for their losses as well as our mom’s, and we are grateful for every second they gave our mother at the expense of their own preparations to evacuate.
The Dilansa family, who helped our mom escape the fire, also lost their home. You can contribute to their Go Fund Me page here.Twenty years ago, when our mom named her company Whimsy and grace, she was adamant that “grace” should not be capitalized, because she meant “grace” as a common noun, not a proper noun. Her desire was to bring beauty and elegance to everyone who stitches her canvases. We have loved watching her designs bring grace to so many people over the years. We are thankful for her safety, for those who helped her, and for her art, which will continue. And we are grateful for any help that you are able to provide.
With love and gratitude,
Her children:
Teri Randall (Seattle, Washington)
Mara (Ashland, Oregon)
Raymond and Kristi Randall (Winter Park, Florida)
Organizer
Teri Thomson Randall
Organizer
Talent, OR