#SupporttheShores Family: Hurricane Ian Relief

#SupporttheShores #ShoresFamilyRelief

As you all know, Hurricane Ian left a swath of devastation throughout Florida, perhaps most notably in Fort Myers and surrounding areas where it made landfall. My name is Lindsay Leifeste, and my sister Megan Shores, her husband Paul, and their two precious daughters Kate and Wren are among the hundreds of thousands of people who are now faced with the monumental task of rebuilding their lives. We are eternally grateful that everyone in the family is safe and healthy, so thank you for your prayers on that front!

However, the Shores Family's home is less than 1/2 mile from the Caloosahatchee River (a major bay/water inlet) and was flooded with storm surge and sewage from their septic tank that backed up into the house. Their garage door blew in and disconnected their brand new AC unit (installed less than six months ago). Bedroom windows shattered. Their new fence and landscaping are gone. The roof needs replacing. As a result, nearly all their belongings - including all furniture - are not salvageable, and their house needs significant remediation and repairs. Given the damage throughout Florida, the Shores do not know when their home will be liveable again. They will live with my parents for the foreseeable future while they rebuild their lives.

When I first talked to Megan during the wee morning hours after Hurricane Ian, and immediately after Megan and Paul surveyed the damage to their home, I could tell the family was in shock. Megan kept saying, "I don't have any shoes. All my shoes are gone. I'm wearing my only pair of shoes", as she recalled the sewage and sludge throughout their home. Meanwhile, avid reader Kate was focused on her books: "Are my books ok? What about my books? Did my books make it?" Paul was stoically silent. Toddler Wren was asleep and is fortunately too young to remember this ordeal.

I ask that you please prayerfully consider either donating through this platform, or directly to Megan and Paul via Paul's Venmo account (@paulshores, last 4 digits of his number are 6238). Your generous support will be used towards the following:

Although the Shores do have insurance, the process of getting reimbursed will take months and possibly years. Additionaly, insurance companies are not known for paying out dollar-for-dollar on the value of items (especially when hundreds of thousands of claims come flooding in), so the Shores Family will likely receive only pennies on the dollar to replace their belongings.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and generous support of the Shores Family during this traumatic ordeal. We will all be eternally grateful.