HELP REBUILD WELSTEAD FAMILY HOME - FIRE RELIEF
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The Story
This $50,000 fundraiser is set up on behalf of William "Billy" Welstead of Richmond, Virginia, a church elder and a friend since junior high school, who recently endured a large fire that DESTROYED HIS HOME of 25 years. Nearly all household possessions were either a total loss or were so smoke/soot damaged that they will require professional restoration to salvage what potentially remains. The family has had to move to a temporary shelter, likely unable to return to their normal lives until Spring 2023 at the earliest. Thankfully, no one sustained an injury; yet, it has been traumatic and a nightmare to personally eyewitness the charred ruins and demolition of lifelong memories.
Unexpected Complications
To compound the shock and misfortune of a destructive home fire, some significant improprieties with the contractor unfortunately occurred, and their team and other affiliated parties; therefore, an attorney had to be retained at a fee of $20,000 to move the entire process ahead and to reclaim lost funds. As of November 2022, little-to-no progress has been made toward capably restoring the home since the restoration team began in April 2022. The family's finances have been exhausted, and funds are desperately needed for future unforeseen developments.
Additionally, unprofessional behavior on the part of those the family entrusted to represent them has led to an unnecessarily prolonged process of managing this horrific life event that no family should have to endure. This sad sequence of events has occurred amidst the current challenging economic climate of inflation, increasing building costs, and supply chain shortages, which means a brutal winter ahead, further exacerbating the family's financial hardships and adding more anxiety to their already traumatic situation.
Your Help
Any/all assistance is GREATLY APPRECIATED and will go a long way to aid in this tragedy. Your generous support will help expedite the recovery process by 1.) enabling the hire of a proper contractor to restore and rebuild the home in a reasonable time, 2.) funding the legal fees needed to manage the unbelievably complicated process at this stage, and 3.) improving family morale which is very much needed at this trying time in each of their respective lives. The financial goal of $50,000 is based on the urgent out-of-pocket costs to proceed with the legalities and for the family's day-to-day expenses, so PLEASE SHARE THIS STORY TO SPREAD THE WORD.
Thank you in advance for caring. May our God richly bless you!
Organizer’s Note ~ David S.
This campaign was set up as an expression of Christian love and friendship. It has been established exclusively to help the Welstead family. As organizer, I’ve chosen to remain as anonymous as possible (Matthew 5-7; 6:1-4). GoFundMe does not allow an account picture without linking to Facebook. Billy’s son, W. Trent Welstead, has therefore linked to his own Facebook and Gofundme to ensure legitimacy; he is assisting with the upkeep of this page and its promotion on everyone’s behalf. All funds go directly to the Welstead family bank account. As organizer, I do not profit in any way other than the reward which comes inherently from helping a friend in need. God bless.
Organizer and beneficiary
David C. Spinelli
Organizer
Virginia Beach, VA
Trent Welstead
Beneficiary