Tax Receipts!

Here we go again!

To put an item in this auction:

When the auction ends:

All of the money

I received this touching letter after the Vasel Fund sent some assistance to fellow gamer Patrick Hoier and his family. The timing was important because they have no winter coats.





Cate:



I do not even know how to properly begin an e-mail of this type, I am at a loss for words and can only begin it with a very humble and understated "thank you".



My brother Brian Hoier has informed me that he submitted my family's information to your foundation for assistance, and that you have accepted my family's plight with your overwhelming support. I cannot begin to explain how much this means to us, and how this gift will affect our family as we attempt to recover from our losses.



On October 10th, at 2 am, our lives were turned upside down. My daughter had obtained a candle from a pioneer celebration at a local state park. Before she went to bed, she thought it would be neat to read by candle light as her favorite characters did in some of her books. It was an innocent act in itself; however, she quickly fell asleep. She woke to her room wall being totally consumed by a fire that was feeding off the many books and games that she kept in her room. Luckily, she was able to escape out her window and run to the neighbors house to get help. The neighbors were able to wake my wife and I up, and we were able to quickly evacuate all of our children safely from the house (using the fiire escape plan my oldest son had made the month before). Moments after we evacuated the house, the windows of my daughter's room blew out and the fire overtook the front rooms. The fire departments quickly responded and eventually put the flames out after 15 minutes of their arrival (approximately 25 or more minutes after the fire started). The fire was contained to the front of the house; however, the somke damage was extensive and melted/burned most of our belongings. Even our items that were in the small family room in the basement were ruined by water damage (as it was directly under my daughter's room).



After the fire was extinguished, the fire department let us back into the house to attempt to salvage any item we needed immediately. The scene of the damage was overwhelming and brought tears to my eyes. Everything we owned was destroyed. We tried to salvage some clothes, but most of these had to be disposed of later due to not being able to remove the scent of smoke from the items. My wife and 2 daughters are asthmatic and we cannot keep any items with the smoke scent. All of their medications were destroyed as well. My childrens toys and games were all lost. All of the possesions we tried to salvage fit easily in the very back of our minivan's storage space. Our family of 7 was effectively homeless.



Our insurance agency was able to put us up into a hotel room for a couple of weeks; however, with a family of 7, this was a tight fit. They eventually found a house to rent for us; however, the down payment for the rent and items are taken out of any fire settlement we receive. We have no furniture of our own, and all of our items need to be replaced. As of right now, we are thankful to be safe, healthy, and with each other.



We have tried to replace some simple items with the funds we have available, and have tried to focus on replacing our children's favorite toys (as play is very important for children to work through their fears and anxiety). We bought my four year old some small "My Little Ponies", and they became her prized possessions. She carried them everywhere we went (even to dinner or stores), never letting them out of her sight. She would simply explain to others that "this is all I have". It is difficult to watch a four year old little girl try to make sense of the world when everything she trusted in was turned upside down.



We have purchased a few other items, but we are now at the mercy of our insurance agency. We have had quite a few clothes donated, but most were from individuals that are cleariing out their summer/fall wardrobes. We are trying to purchase more winter clothes. We live simply, and I am the sole wage earner for our family.



I am sorry for being so long winded in this e-mail, but it is hard for me to admit or even accept help from anyone. I am usually the one donating or working anonymously behind the scenes to help others. Now, I am the one in need and it is very humbling and humiliating.



The support offered by your founation overwhelmed me, and I was overcome with emotion. I cannot evenbegin to tell you how far this will go to helping my family as we begin to recover from our losses. I wish there was some way I could find to repay you, or to even let you know how much this all means to us. I will be sending you a picture of my beautiful family tomorow, and pictures of the damage it caused to our home so that you can see how your foundations asistance will help us recover.



Thank you so much again, and God Bless each and every member of the foundation.



Sincerely:

Patrick, Michelle, Megan (13), Ethan (11), Nicholas (8), Erin (7) and Sabrina (4) Hoier.