National Thank You Day

Monday, Sept 24th is the National Thank You Day. Our local newspaper, The Gazette, ran a request for people to send in their "Thank you's". The following is a letter we wrote and was published in the Gazette on the 24th.

We would like to say thank you to the wonderful, giving people of Colorado Springs and surrounding area. On May 25 we stood in our front yard and watched as our home and all of our belongings burnt to the ground. We live on the prairie in the Falcon/Peyton area and it was a typical windy day. Within minutes of making the call to 911 we knew there was nothing the fire department could do to save our home or anything in it. It was all gone. All they could do was try to save the outbuildings and not let it spread. We have been doing foster care with Hope & Home in Colorado Springs for five years and we called the director, Ross Wright. He and his wife came and took us home with them for the night. The next few days, though somewhat of a blur, reminded us of the goodness of people. Friends, neighbors and people we had never met, came to the Wright’s home and to Hope & Home with things for us. From toothbrushes and toothpaste, to washers and dryers, cash and gift cards, toys, movies and books for our three adopted children, the donations came. But it did not stop there. We moved our family to a hotel for three and a half weeks while the insurance looked for a rental home. While we were there we did not have to cook dinner. A volunteer with the Falcon fire department and his church brought a home cooked meal to our hotel every night. Other people in Colorado Springs dropped off restaurant gift cards at the front desk. The people at Colorado Springs Utilities, where my husband works, dropped off an envelope stuffed with gift cards, restaurant gift cards, movie gift cards and cash. The 302 Civil Engineer Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base, where my husband retired from the Air Force Reserve, heard the news and brought us cash and gift cards. One of our sons attends Banning Lewis Ranch Academy Charter School. His teacher gave him a ride to and from school, had a clothes drive and the PTO gave us a check. My mother lives in a retirement community in Aurora, and her neighbors sent money, gift cards, clothes and furniture. Hope & Home coordinated all the donations coming in. Our neighbors have been watering our trees all summer, mowing our five-acre lawn, and watching our property. Through it all our families and close friends have been there to cry with us, laugh with us, dig through the rubble and ash, and now begin to rebuild. It is impossible to mention everyone individually, but our family wants you to know we do so much appreciate every single gift. We wanted to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Some of you we will never meet, some we know, and others we see everyday. Our family is so grateful to everyone that helped us during this difficult time and we know words are not enough but we wanted to try! Thank you, Jeffrey and Patricia Ward and family