SHELBY — During a time of inflation, political turmoil, and international conflicts, one small family in one small Ohio city has received an outpouring of support and help from their small city and surrounding communities.
When the story of the Uyoa family was published in Richland Source last week, they had no idea how people would respond. Their father, Victor, was at the Cleveland Clinic recovering from a liver transplant.
The eldest daughter living at home, Maria, was in the middle of working three jobs, raising her three younger siblings, and living in an unfinished house without heat. This was their life and what the family was used to since their father had been ill with Hepatitis B their entire lives.
“It’s just what our lives were like,” Maria had said of their situation.
Yet most of their friends and acquaintances had no idea what this family was going through.
A major problem for them was their lack of heat in the home. The Uyoa family had the duct work put in for a furnace, but then their father became too ill to purchase a new furnace and have it installed.
He bought flooring and plumbing to work on the house they bought in 2015 but got too sick to do much of the work. These supplies sit in piles around their house, waiting to be done.
Then the story about their plight ran in Richland Source — and the response was immediate and overwhelming. People the family didn’t even know came to their aid.
“A woman walked into my shop and just handed me an envelope and said that she didn’t use GoFundMe but wanted to donate and left. Inside was $50,” Maria said.
Not only did the GoFundMe account increase by nearly $2,500 in just one week, but like the woman who handed her $50, there have been other monetary donations given like this as well.
The biggest and most surprising donation has been a brand-new Carrier furnace.
A private donation has come in from a single person who is familiar with the family after having tutored the younger siblings at their school in the past and came forward with this huge offering.
She contacted the furnace company which had sold the duct work to Victor Uyoa. They told her what duct work had been put in and what furnace they needed. She then purchased the furnace and paid for the installation.
The Carrier furnace is scheduled to be installed on Thursday, Oct. 20.
The other wonderful news is that Blue Rose Mission has already come to the home to assess their needs and is hoping to have the flooring and plumbing done for them by the end of the year.
At this point, what we need most are experienced volunteers to assist with the installation of the flooring and plumbing. If anyone is interested, please contact Jessica Pingitore at Blue Rose Mission in Mansfield at 419-528-8162.
Besides volunteers, gift cards from Home Depot (which is where they bought the plumbing and flooring supplies they already have) would be greatly appreciated.
Those can be directed to the Uyoa Family in care Blue Rose Mission, P.O. Box 3834, Mansfield, Ohio 44907. The GoFundMe account is also a way to continue to help the Uyoa family: https://gofund.me/32665392
