In the spring of 2012, the Green family felt led to add two more children to their family of ten. They wanted to come up with a unique way to share their news with family and friends, so the children came up with the idea of producing a music video. This video was an inspiration. Within days, it had over 10,000 hits on YouTube and had people from all over the world in both laughter and tears.
One of those people was me, a neighbor of the Green family. After being touched by the video, I found myself thinking about their sweet children and the special needs that they each have. An idea began to form - one that I felt was inspired. What if I led a fundraiser for this family, with the end goal of moving them into a bigger home, one that was more special-needs friendly? As I talked with others in the community, I realized that the amount of love felt for the Green family was shared, and it was tremendous. So many people wanted to lend a hand in support, and I quickly formed a committee. None of us have ever worked together before, but united by this great, worthwhile goal, we are all excited to do our best to make this home a wonderful reality.
As a committee, we began to discuss in weekly meetings the needs of this project. We set a fundraising goal of $500,000, which would be used for the building of a house. While this is beyond the cost of an average home, this is not an average family. Because seven of the ten children have incredibly special needs, we are building this home to help accommodate those needs. One needed amenity will be an elevator - particularly for Cali,
who was born with spina bifida and is confined to a wheelchair. The elevator will also be of great help with mobility issues pertaining to the other six special-needs children. Another important amenity in the home will be for the benefit of Sophi, who was born without arms. She legitimately needs the installation of various modified appliances that would, among other things, allow her to open and close, turn on and off, and flush with her feet. Obviously, the three blind children could use many specialized design features. Seven-year-old Elli is blind, severely autistic, and unbelievably strong. Besides truly needing a bedroom of her own, Elli would be greatly helped by a therapy/exercise room. Of course, such a room would also significantly help the other six special-needs children. With the large number of children and the special-needs amenities and accommodations, we hope to build them a home that is approximately 6,000 square feet.
Please consider being a "piece of the puzzle" by clicking on the "donate" button or contacting us to see how you can help!
Sincerely,
Chrissy Probst and the Green Family Fundraising Committee