A local school crossing guard is getting a brand new home of his own thanks to the generosity of hundreds of people in the Georgetown community.
“His 20-year-old RV is falling apart around him,” Howard and Jeanette Workman, friends of Moe Howard, and who spearheaded the effort, said. “In spite of efforts to tarp and tar the roof, it has been leaking for years, creating a toxic mold situation making it unhealthy for him and his beloved animals. The structure has simply worn out, leaving him with no indoor toilet facilities and rotting floors and walls.”
At the time of the article, the fundraising goal had almost been met and the Workman were looking forward to helping Moe purchase a new RV for him and his furry family members.
“So, we pursued that, and as miracle after miracle came in and we reached our goal and we thought, ‘What if we shoot higher? What if instead of an RV, we set him up for more comfort and more room, and build a tiny house,'” Jeanette Workman told Hello Georgetown. “We weren’t sure how that we were going to accomplish that, but we trusted that miracles still do exist.”
There were more miracles in store unbeknownst to Moe and the Workmans, as a local nonprofit read his story on Hello Georgetown and determined to do all they could to help him.
“I knew that within our P.E.O. sisterhood, there was a TSOFI project that will give grants to people in need,” Karla Podnar, member of a local chapter of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, P.E.O. Chapter GZ, said. “I reached out to our president and through that, she reached out to the chairman of our committee.”
Part of that committee was Sheron Scurlock, Vice President of the P.E.O Chapter, who knew Moe, she told Hello Georgetown, after the two had volunteered at The Caring Place together. Moe’s need, she said, qualified for the TSOFI grant, which is a specific grant by the organization for men and women in need.
“Karla and Evie worked with me, and we got the application, met with Howard and Moe and hearing his story, we really knew we wanted to help him,” Scurlock said. “We learned that [the state committee], they get many, many more requests than they have money for grants each month, and they worked urgently to process Moe’s in a quicker than normal time and gave the full amount. So, we were thrilled and really feel like it was a God thing.”
It was a faith building moment for all, especially for Moe Howard and the Workmans who had been praying for a way to make his new home happen.
“When I called Howard to tell him about the possibility of a grant, he said, ‘Moe and I are sitting at my dining room table talking about how can we come up with the extra $11,000,’ and he said, ‘It’s an answer to our prayer,'” Schurlock said.
The miracles weren’t over yet though. With the full $6,000 amount of the grant approved, another Chapter GZ member was inspired by Moe’s story and anonymously matched the grant amount bringing the total donation to $12,000 dollars.
“I’m just so grateful,” Moe Howard said, who now regularly hears extra encouraging hello’s and kind wishes as people pass by him during his school crossing guard hours. “All these people, I just didn’t know, people cared that much.”
Throughout this process, Moe has been able to see first hand just how many people in Georgetown do care and has seen it expressed through a variety of ways. Donations, encouraging words, time and talent, and more, Jeanette Workman said, and it’s been inspiring.
“It’s taken hundreds of people to make this happen, I wish we had a list,” Jeanette Workman said. “It would be a very long list. It would take a lot of paper, but people have donated in different ways and in the way that they’ve been able to donate, and I’ve just been so impressed that people, when they see a need, they offer up what they can offer and all of those offerings have been so beautiful.”
Like the loaves and the fishes, and the widow’s mite in the Biblical stories of the New Testament, Moe’s new home will be beyond what he could have even imagined.
“It’s just the kindness and generosity of random people, strangers, that’s made this possible for Moe not just to have a livable shed, but with the contributions, it’s going to be a very comfortable, nice place for him,” Howard Workman said. “We don’t have to get ten-year-old fridges and use a bunch of used appliances. The donations have been greater than we expected beyond just bare bones. We can make it nice and comfortable for him.”
This latest donation makes much of those comforts possible and everyone involved in the grant for Moe is thrilled at the future that awaits him.
“I’m just very proud of everything that Chapter GZ does when it comes to helping people in need, and this one topped it for me, I still get goosebumps every time I think about it,” Shirley Bryan, President of the P.E.O. Georgetown chapter, told Hello Georgetown.
“I’m a newer member of Chapter GZ, and this just confirms why I wanted to be a part of P.E.O. because they do help people,” Barbara Marr said. “I’m just proud to be here.”
Moe’s new home is expected to be complete by the beginning of December.
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