Rebuild Hope: Help Tornado Victims Reclaim Home

Dear Friends and Supporters,

A little over two years ago on June 20, 2021, a record breaking EF3 tornado tore through our community, forever changing more than 24 families’ lives on that fateful Father’s Day morning. The devastating natural disaster displaced over two dozen families whose homes were irreplaceably lost to this act of God. In the years since, the task of completing the necessary re-build of each one of these homes has become nearly unattainable and surely unexplainable.

Since 2021, our community has been working tirelessly to raise the funds needed for these families to return to their homes. We have overcome numerous unforeseen hurdles, fought hard to hold the insurance companies liable, and have appealed to our local government agencies and emergency services relief funds. However, our struggle continues, and we now appeal to you, our fellow community members.

No one could have imagined the roadblocks encountered during this process. Supply delays, contractor changes, insurance processing and the like have all contributed to the continued displacement of so many members of our communities and their families. Over the past two years, we have been forcibly found without a home, having ours taken by circumstance beyond control.

As we approach what we hope to be the light at the end of the tunnel, we graciously ask you, our fellow community members, to consider assisting us in reaching our goal – a deserved one of being back under our own roof.

After endlessly exhausting all available avenues, our homeowner’s association has determined we are nearly one million dollars short of the ability to safely complete the entire rebuild and give homes and health back to those who lost it. Our goal is to compete construction by February 2024. This would allow each family to return home just under the 3-year mark of being displaced.

As one can imagine, our displaced residents have run dry on personal funds of their own during these 27 months. They have had to maintain not only the current mortgage on their damaged property but also provide new on-going daily housing for themselves and their loved ones. Without additional financial assistance, each member of the homeowner’s association will be required to undergo an assessment of fees totaling the cost over the course of the next 10 years – a trial which would turn this singular horrific natural disaster into a nearly lifelong financial struggle for most of our affected homeowners.

We ask for your consideration to help us end this financial burden and all the emotional and physical turmoil which has come along with it. Truly, any amount you feel you can give would be greatly appreciated, no matter the size. It is with heavy hearts that we ask and full ones that we express our gratitude. If you cannot give monetarily at this moment, we hope you pass this appeal along to others. Please post-it, share it, give it breath, so that others may consider giving to our cause. Awareness is priceless, and with your help in sharing we may have a stronger hope for support.

Thank you – for taking the time to read this, for taking the time to consider us, and for any support you may be able to give financial or otherwise. It is together as a community that we have struggled these past years, and it is together as a community that we plan to survive.

With Gratitude,

Woodridge Country Club Association #5 Homeowners