Hi Everyone!
Sorry it has been so long since the last update. A lot has happened since last March! Please read through the 1/25/25 updates to the original plan on the main fundraiser page. We made a few adjustments as we have moved forward with the plan.
First of all, I want to start out by saying that Enrique and Ruby are doing as well as they can living together in a small room in a nursing home. Having people on the outside to advocate for them has been critical to their well-being. A friend of theirs got them cell phones so they can make and receive calls. A few friends continue to visit them regularly. We bought them a Roku and a Netflix subscription so they can more easily access movies and not have to watch CNN news all day long. Enrique needed a new prosthetic, and while it took a lot of initiative from a friend of Ruby's to get him set up with the appointments and transportation he needed, he will be getting his new prosthetic next week! Medicaid actually denied paying for the 20% that Medicare wouldn't cover, so we decided to use some of the funds raised in the fundraiser to cover the 20% cost.
Also, over the summer we successfully took Enrique and Ruby to Redford for their first 3-day visit back! We stayed in the Community Center across the street after purchasing and setting up new beds, mattresses and bedding for them (we threw out the old beds and bedding last March). Many people stopped by to visit with them, and Ruby got to spend quality time with several close friends. They also spent some time going through their home.
With the decision to put all of our effort and resources into fixing up, cleaning, and updating Enrique's and Ruby's actual home, the first priority was to replace their roof as it was leaking and showing signs of collapse in the front of the home. With an excellent recommendation, we found a wonderful local contractor who replaced the roof in December, 2024. They did a great job!
With the roof completed, we then pushed forward with a volunteer work week to begin the deep cleaning process inside the home from December 29-January 4. We successfully tackled a few more rooms, removing and carefully dusting and cleaning all items and furniture, deep cleaning walls and floors, then putting everything back into place. The ceiling damage due to the leaking roof in the front rooms and the kitchen was quite severe. Large sections of plaster had fallen from the ceiling onto the floor in the front bedroom and the kitchen. We successfully repaired the plaster in the bedroom. The kitchen will be next. In the living room, the plaster was still intact and we were able to scrape off all peeling paint, and used multiple coats of high quality primer and ceiling paint to cover the water stains. It looks great!
I will be bringing 25 of my 10th grade students and three other teachers from Watershed School in Boulder to Redford from March 16-20, 2025 to continue (and hopefully finish) the deep cleaning and to paint all walls and ceilings. This trip will be paid for entirely by Watershed School. Like all past volunteer trips, money in the fundraiser will only be used to purchase supplies and needed items for the house, pay for the trailer rental to transport tools and supplies, pay local people for expertise and use of their equipment (front loaders and trash trucks, for example), and pay for any high priority expenses that directly benefit Enrique and Ruby (rental car that took them to Redford, Enrique's prosthetic co-pay, etc). Once the cleaning and painting in the house is finished, we will focus on updating the kitchen and bathroom with new ADA sinks and appliances and replacing some furniture in order to get the house ready to be lived in once again. The end goal is in sight!
We couldn't have done ANY of this work without the $20,000 raised so far in this fundraiser. Thank you all for your generosity! It has taken most of this money to accomplish what we have. We have every expense recorded, so please reach out if you have any questions about how the funds were spent.
We need to raise the final $10,000 of the fundraiser goal to take us to the finish line. This should be sufficient to finish the work described above, do some needed plumbing and electrical repair, purchase necessary ADA appliances and furniture, and update the home for wheelchair accessibility. So please consider another donation!
Another round of "Thank you's" are in order:
- My sister, Cheryl Stayton, for flying out to help me take Enrique and Ruby to Redford in July. I couldn't have done it without you!
- My colleague and friend, Carmela Ortiz, and her friend, Andrew, who both came all the way way to Redford during their winter break to help out - thank you for your hard work and positive energy!
- Larry Goldstein, for your consistent connection with Enrique and Ruby over the years and for flying out to help this winter break. You have been an invaluable support!
- Billy Norton, for your great energy and willingness to join us when you could have been spending more time with your family during your winter holiday break.
- My son, Kai, and his two friends, Bodan and Eli, for spending not only their spring break last year but also much of their winter break this year traveling to Redford to help volunteer. You are wonderful hard workers!
- Jose Hernandez, for your positive and consistent local support to Enrique and Ruby.
- Barbara Baskin, for your persistence in helping get Enrique set up for a new prosthetic.
- County Commissioner, Margarito Hernandez, for your unwavering support in letting us use the Redford Community Center every time we come to Redford.
- Hector and Rosa Morales for making sure the Redford Center was clean and ready for us and for loaning us the key... again!
- And, of course, to all of you for your generosity and kind words. Enrique and Ruby were very touched after we read all of the notes people wrote on this fundraiser to them.
A core group of six volunteers converged on Redford for the entire week of March 24th and many other volunteers helped out throughout the week!
This was a wildly successful clean-up of Enrique's and Ruby's house - it surpassed all expectations! All of Enrique's and Ruby's personal belongings and family collections in the home are safe and secured from further damage.
We also cleaned the house across the street, replaced broken window panes in that home, and did major cleanup of the yard. We also had a full evaluation of the electrical and plumbing systems in both homes. We are ready for Phase 2!
- My colleague and friend, Joie Le, who came all the way to Redford during her much needed spring break to help out - she was a critical player in tackling some of the most challenging rooms in the house.
- Greg Knipe, for his consistent hard work and great storytelling!
- My son, Kai, and his two friends, Bodan and Eli - they were terrific hard working teens who invested a lot of time and energy in making the week a success. And they tackled some pretty nasty jobs!
- Brian Young for helping ensure our personal safety by making sure we were prepared in case of snake or critter encounters.
- Arty Rothery, for organizing the VOBS student group to clean up the outside of the house before we even got there. Arty also organized a small group of VOBS staff who worked for a few hours tackling the cupboards and floor in the kitchen. And they did this after spending days packing up the VOBS base.
- Calvin Croll for stopping by on Thursday to do an expert electrician's check of the electrical systems in both houses.
- Patrick Kelley, friend of Diane Wintzer, who stopped by for most of a day and completed all of our small construction projects - boarding up openings in doors, windows, torn screens, and replacing broken windows in E&R's house! He was the one who actually secured the home from easy entry!
- Mario Pando, for the use of his large dump truck and hauling four very full loads of garbage to the dump.
- Pancho Hernandez, for helping find a working front loader in Redford and helping load the dump truck. He also took a load of appliances and separated metals to the dump with his truck and flatbed trailer. Pancho is also the person who has been feeding E&R's cats since last June!
- Chuy, for coming to help with his front loader for the final dump load.
- Steve Mesa, for connecting me to Mario Pando (thanks for answering your phone despite the unknown 303 area code!)
- County Commissioners Brenda Bentley and Margarito Hernandez for allowing us to use the community center in Redford for the week, and Hector and Rosa Morales, for making sure the community center was cleaned and loaning us the key to the facility for the week.
- AND ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE OFFERED SUPPORTING WORDS AND DONATIONS!!!!
- Move forward with making a livable, updated space for Enrique and Ruby so they can visit.
- Remove, clean, catalogue and archive the various books and collections in the home. Margo Tamez will be leading that effort starting this summer.