Helping Bob Richards

Bob Richards, an 8 x Ironman competitor,  had to give up triathlon to look after his late wife who had MS. Despite financial hardships, caused by various necessary home mobility adjustments. Despite this, Bob still found it in his heart to help others.

A kind and caring individual, he took out a loan to get a mobile home for a local family. When the father of the family died, he took the Mom and Kids under his wing. Taking out a loan to ensure they had a home. They let him down and he lost all the money they put into the property.

Bob was recently seen by the guys at Keep The Cold Off Penticton Foundation. They are a not-for-profit society providing mobile outreach and other initiatives related to homelessness in Penticton BC. Bob is not homeless. But his story touched their hearts and they shared it on theirFacebook Page HERE .

The story along with Bob's reply email is below. We would like to help Bob get back on his feet from a financial situation caused solely by his kind-natured need to help others.

Thank you in advance for your time to read his story and any donation you are able to make.

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Keep the Cold Off Penticton Facebook Post :

We have a story we want to share. We were driving around last Monday on our route looking for our friends on this super cold night. Hunting for people we saw a person looking in recycle bins at the road. I did a u-turn and we drove up asking him if he needed anything and he told us he is not homeless or in need of food, but explained his story. We have seen him a few nights we have been out now, and again on this cold one.
We gave him a card and asked him to reach out if we could ever help in some way. He emailed us his story and gave his permission to share it with the community. It's been posted just like he sent it, and we would love if we could come together to help him pay off his debt by donating bottles to him. He told us he has no problem with people bringing them by at his address mentioned below.
Please help if you can.... Thank you everyone
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Hi Mike

Nice to meet you and I assume Kristyn last night. More earthly Angels that I’ve now met. So good of you to be out looking after those in need.

I would gladly accept your offer to process your bottles and cans. I could pick them up or they could be dropped off at 114 Ayres Crescent here in Penticton.

I’ve got to admit the years since 2005 have been tough and I do get a bit depressed. I had to give up doing the ironman race to 2000 when my late wife was suffering from M/S. Then in 2005 I had to put in adaptions in the house and ramps and cement the back patio. In 2008 I had to get a truck with a lift to load a wheelchair and a swing out seat that I could load her into.

Shortly after that I herniated a disc, T12 – L1 and had to keep working with pain killers. A fellow came to work for two weeks and then committed suicide, leaving a widow and two kids. She came to work and I picked her up and her rural Oliver home with the crew I took in to work. Took them under my wing and took them fishing and up into the hills once in a while.

In 2010 the box plant in Oliver was closed down and I went into Security work here in Penticton. Ended up working twelve hour shifts for eight at night to eight in the morning four days on and four off. Days were sleeping with ears open to hear with *name removed* needed help. In the meantime, to help the family in Oliver out as the kids were finishing school. I took out a huge loan to help them purchase a mobile in Penticton. I could not get a mortgage on a house as well as my own.

In March of 2014, they move out and when I managed to get a key once I found out, it was a total wreck inside. Cost of pad rent and repairs plus insurance were out of the question and I had to give it away and transfer the credit line to my mortgage. A hard pill to swallow, but at least then I managed to cut down on the money I owned and wan’t going to add over a thousand to my debts each month.

By this time my wife was in care, and I’ve slowly managed to drop the [loan] balance from over 130 thousand to the 93 thousand it is today. Any large expenses for myself I but on a line of credit and pay that off first. Mortgage payment just over $518 a month and I usually make an extra payment each month.

Bound and determined, I’ll get back on my feet without the financial stress.

Thanks again for your offer.
Bob R.