We are still praying for more quilts to take with us to Okanogan County in Eastern Washington in October. Please, we do NOT need infant or lap quilts at this time, but desperately need bed sized quilts such as twin, full, etc.
Please help us bless these families who lost so much and are struggling as winter and the cold approaches. As the Red Cross has probably pulled out and FEMA (if they were there at all) leaves, these families are left with trying to put their lives back together.
The one thing everyone always tells me is how much our quilts mean to them. During their dark times, they knew someone cared and these quilts brought them comfort.
Please send quilts to:
Jean Kester
18740 Ivan Street SW
Rochester, WA 98579
Be the one that makes a difference!
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The following people have already had quilts sent to them, however, they need cards of encouragement and comfort. Please take a moment to send one or all of them a card to let them know you care and make sure you put Layers of Hope - Quilting 911 in it so they know how you learned about them. **Addresses for these people follow their information, do not send cards to me just send them directly to those in need**
1- Irena has Adrenal Cancer and is going through some tough times. If you can reach out to her with a card or more to bless her that would be awesome.
rena Bones-Gaston has been diagnosed with Stage 2/3 Adrenal Cancer
and is currently waiting on admission to Cancer Care Center. Since she
has been off of work with illness, she has fallen on some hard times
personally. She has discovered that she has some major repairs to make
on her home. If theses repairs are not made, she and her family can no
longer live there. Through all of this, Irena still has kept her faith
and keeps pushing on.
We are trying to keep Irena’s family above water while she goes
through this hard phase of her life. If anyone would like to send
cards, notes of encouragement or assist financially, please send them to
Kimberly Hartman c/o York County Department of Emergency Services, 120
Davies Dr, York, PA 17402. If donating money, please make checks out
to Irena Bones-Gaston. I will make sure to hand deliver everything we
receive here.
2-Jordan Oliveria had been sick on and off the past year and was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 27 a few months ago.
At this time Jordan doesn't know what stage his cancer is in due
to his insurance not covering his PET scan and the doctors couldn't tell
on the CT if the lymph nodes were enlarged from infection or was the
cancer.
His doctors are being very aggressive fighting his cancer with
chemo treatment every day with a break on the weekends. He will have
surgery in the next few months and hopefully get all the cancer there
is. After surgery, Jordan will endure more chemo and radiation for a 6
month period.
He's working on and off at the moment, coming in when he feels up
to it. All his co-workers have pitched in to make sure he has
everything he needs, but more support can't hurt.
Please send any cards or form of support to:
Southaven Police Dept
ATTN: Jordan Oliveria
8691 Northwest Dr
Southaven, MS 38671
3-We recently experienced a heavy blow when one of our dispatchers, David
Gonzales, was in a serious motorcycle crash while on his way to work.
Our center actually took the 911 calls for his accident and then
discovered when he did not arrive for his schedule shift that the
accident involved him.
At Northwest Central Dispatch you will find many dedicated, caring,
and helpful employees that are always ready and willing to help out the
communities they dispatch for as well as each other. David Gonzales is
most certainly one of these people whom his coworkers would describe as,
“a great person and friend.” He is one of the people you have no
problem turning to if you’re questioning a call you took or in need of
assistance getting a shift covered.
Outside of work, David is also a dedicated family man to his
wife and three daughters who are 17, 15, and 2 years old. He just
recently took time off of work in order to improve on the home they live
in. Another activity that David regular enjoys is being able to go out
for rides on his 2007 Suzuki Boulevard motorcycle. He took frequent
rides out with close friends from work as well as with the motorcycle
group he belongs to and regularly rode his motorcycle into work.
It was on such a night, on August 27th, 2014 at approximately
10:30PM that the Gonzales family were made to face one of their biggest
challenges. A driver of a Ford Expedition struck David’s motorcycle as
he was turning into a restaurant parking lot to pick up an order turned
in front of David and struck him. David was thrown from the motorcycle
and the driver of the Ford took off. Thanks to many witnesses and a
delivery driver from the restaurant, police were able to apprehend the
offender within four hours. David’s family, as well as his extended
family at Northwest Central Dispatch, are incredibly grateful to all the
people who assisted to catch the offender. It was our very own call
center that took the 911 calls for David’s accident. When David did not
arrive for his scheduled shift, the pieces fell into place.
When the news of David’s accident reached his family and those
at Northwest Central Dispatch, there were no other words to describe how
everyone felt except complete devastation. Anyone who knows David knows
what a wonderful and kind hearted person he is. To imagine that he
would be the one to suffer from such an accident and have someone
attempt to relieve themselves of any responsibility by leaving the scene
of the accident instead of providing aid to David is beyond our
comprehension. Despite feeling such a loss, everyone has come together
with an immense amount of love and support for David and his family.
Currently David is still in intensive care at Lutheran General
Hospital. At this time, his wife, Maria Gonzales, asks more than
anything for your prayers and thoughts for David and their family. David
suffers from a cracked vertebrae as well as a head injury, but we are
looking forward to him hopefully making a full recovery. Gifts of a
monetary value are also greatly appreciated as they anticipate many
potential hardships during this recovery. We have set a goal at this
time for $10,000 to cover expenses for the family traveling from their
home to the hospital and to alleviate other expenses while David is out
of work. Checks can be made out to David or Maria Gonzales. Please send
any donations and letters to:
Northwest Central Dispatch
C/O Shasta Green
1975 E Davis St
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
**During long periods of recovery, I know his family and David would so appreciate receiving cards and letters to keep them going.**
4- would like to take a moment to introduce a Night Shift Supervisor
that has selflessly given so much over the years, and is now fighting a
life threating condition. Melissa “Boggs” Barker is an 8 year veteran
dispatcher/supervisor with the Hamilton County Public Safety
Communication Center located in Noblesville, IN. Melissa was diagnosed
with Crohn’s Disease during childhood, and now at the age of 28 her
condition has become life threatening. Melissa’s mother owns a wrecker
company that has provided services for the citizens of Hamilton County
and surrounding counties as well as the communications center for
several years. The towing services are often times provided free of
charge due to the individuals lack of funds during hard times.
Melissa required surgery back in October 2013 to repair damage
caused by her Crohn’s Disease, but after the surgery her condition
worsened. Over the course of the next 10.5 months, Melissa visited her
IU Health doctors on a regular basis with no affirmative determination
for the drastic decline in her health. In an attempt to obtain answers,
Melissa finally made the decision to visit the Mayo Clinic located in
Minnesota. After meeting with the medical staff at the Mayo Clinic,
Melissa learned that her condition was life threatening and she would
require another complicated surgery in an attempt to repair major damage
caused by the Crohn’s Disease. The doctors explained to Melissa that
she will be hospitalized for approximately 2 weeks after surgery. Also,
over the course of the next 6 months she will need to commute back and
forth from the Mayo Clinic every 2 weeks. Melissa is currently out of
sick time, and soon will be out of short-term disability. In addition
to her monthly household bills, Melissa and her husband will need money
to pay for hotels, fuel, food, and other expenses while visiting the
Mayo Clinic for appointments. Melissa is unable to drive due to the
medication she is taking; therefore her husband must accompany her on
these trips. While he is away from work, he is only receiving a partial
paycheck that will come to an end in the next few weeks.
Melissa struggles with this disease everyday but refuses to let
on that she is suffering from the pain. She is passionate about her job
and is making every effort to get back to work as soon as possible.
Her co-workers are trying to organize a dinner to benefit Melissa and
collecting donations to assist with her travel expenses and bills.
Melissa Barker
21563 Victory Chapel Rd
Noblesville, IN 46060
5- Megan Mcclanahan, a CHP dispatcher needs some assistance from her LE family.
A couple days ago her husband, Zee, suffered a stroke while out
of town. They have 5 children, so this family depends on two incomes.
Being that he was hospitalized away from home, there is the added
expense of being out of town and away from work for an extended time.
I've repeatedly seen Megan be selfless, sacrifice, and go without in
order to help her family, children, friends, and coworkers - now she
needs our help.
6-
Here at the LaPorte County RDC our hearts are heavy. I am writing you
today for prayers and support. Our afternoon shift supervisor, Nikki
Nixon, is going through the most difficult time of her life right now.
Early morning on Saturday August 30th, her boyfriend was fatally stabbed at a local bar. (Read article) He was the love of her life and they had been discussing marriage.
Nikki is the nicest, sweetest girl and is having a difficult
time with this horrific tragedy. Any thoughts, prayers, cards, etc. that
you can pass her way is very greatly appreciated. You may send cards
and well wishes to:
LaPorte County RDC
809 State St.
LaPorte, IN 46350
ATTN: Nikki Nixon
**Remember, send your cards and thoughts and prayers to the addresses listed under each of these needs.** I am also setting up a post for each one individually!
Blessings to all!
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From head to heart to hands, I quilt! I May Only Be One Person, But Together We Can Make A Difference. Bless you for stopping by!