Support Dillsburg Family in Rebuilding Their Home

Hurricane Debby swept through our area on August 9. We live in a modest home in Dillsburg, PA. The 7+ inches of rain and the massive water run-off from the field behind our house were too much for our back basement wall. It was 9:15 a.m. when we suddenly heard and felt a loud rumbling sound, and I knew something drastic had happened. The 30-foot wide rear cinder block wall of our house collapsed into the basement, and water was rushing through from one end to the other.

Thankfully, several local fire companies responded quickly and immediately sprang into action to do what they always do. In our case, it was to get us to safety with a couple of days of clothing and our medications and to shore up the basement so that the whole house didn’t collapse. By then, there were 3 feet of water in the entire 40' by 30' basement.

Mostly everything is ruined… my husband’s woodworking equipment and tools, projects he was working on for family Christmas gifts, washer, dryer, small refrigerator, chairs, an old memory-filled pool table, and supplies for everyday living.

Initially, State Farm Insurance Claims Department told me they would cover our loss as well as lodging and food since we were instructed by the fire department for safety reasons to leave. After talking with the adjuster, State Farm has now determined our loss “unfortunately is not covered by the homeowner’s policy.” They are very sorry. They did promise to pay for lodging and food for 14 days. After we pay the deductible of $2,615, our cost was slightly under that, so State Farm will pay nothing at all. We aren’t rich, so we can’t afford to continue living in a local hotel as we have been.

We are so grateful for friends and family who are offering and providing physical assistance. But we need to purchase lumber, nails, drywall, pay a mason to rebuild the wall, and purchase many of the items lost to the mud/water, i.e., washer, dryer, small refrigerator, paper products, and tools lost from my husband's workshop. Without any payout from State Farm Insurance, I don’t know how we will proceed.

My husband and I are 72 years old. We raised our 3 children in this house. We’ve had Thanksgivings, Christmases, and birthday parties in this house. We have made so many memories with not only our children but our 6 grandchildren and 1 great-granddaughter too. I usually just do what must be done for my family, but this is so much bigger and more overwhelming than anything my husband and I have had to deal with in our 53-year marriage.

We have wonderful children, their spouses, and grandchildren who jumped into action and worked so hard when we found out State Farm denied our claim and was leaving us on our own. They cleaned out muck, carried muddy ruined furniture, the washer and dryer with mud in the interior, and anything else that needed to go straight to the dumpster. They searched for any woodworking tools they could find in piles of mud. That was the area that took the most damage. There are still yards of muck and cinder blocks in the basement and woodworking tools, no doubt, underneath.

Please, any help would be greatly appreciated. We promise funds will be used only for restoring our loss.