Mardedia Wells and a Special Surprise By Judy Holland

Markedia Wells and her sons Javaris and Jalex received a special surprise from David and Erin Robertson and High Socks for Hope! The following is copied off the Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa's website:

"Markedia Wells is a 30 year old native of Tuscaloosa who works at Southern Medical and Surgical Associates to support her two children, Javaris (Jay) and Jalex (Big). Markedia says she always puts her faith in God, and on April 27, 2011, Markedia’s faith was rewarded when she and her two children were spared.

The day of April 27, Markedia was in Alberta City picking up Jay and Big from her mother’s house to take them home. Markedia was going to take a nap while Jay and Big played, but the tornado was moving fast toward Alberta City. The three of them rushed into the boys’ activity room because it had the fewest windows. The wind was blowing through the house rearranging the furniture, fortunately relocating a couch over the three of them that protected them.

Markedia said that all they could do was pray and ask God to deliver them. Their prayers were answered; they had been saved. Sadly, the family’s dog Mister, who would not come inside, was taken by the monstrous tornado.

Markedia removed herself and the boys from what was left of their house. All she could see were trees, and she thought that her house was the only house that had been destroyed. Markedia soon found that not only had her home been destroyed, but almost all of Alberta City was destroyed.

Markedia, the boys, and her mother walked a considerable distance to the Belk Center where they were picked up by Markedia’s brothers. Markedia, the boys, and her mother stayed at a family friend’s home with two other family friends for weeks without any electricity.

Markedia was approved for a Habitat for Humanity house sponsored by Major League Baseball, State Farm, and Player’s Trust and is now a new home owner in Alberta City. She says being approved for a new home is like the American Dream. She wants to thank Habitat for Humanity, Major League Baseball, State Farm, Player’s Trust and High Socks for Hope for this opportunity. She says it is the best thing in the world.

“We were battered and bruised, and we lost material things but more importantly we walked away with the most important thing: life, and life more abundantly glory to God,” Markedia said."

Javaris is an excellent baseball player who has loved the sport since he was four years old. He is an all-star player with dreams of playing for the Yankees like David Robertson.

When David made a trip home in November 2012 he spent some time with Javaris and Jalex. David showed Javaris and his team at Kentuck several techniques that will help them play ball better.

After their home was finished High Socks For Hope furnished the home and we made sure Javaris and Jalex had their favorite themes in their new bedroom!

Markedia, Javaris and Jalex have lived in their home for a year.  David and Erin decided this summer that they wanted to give Javaris and Jalex the experience of a Yankees game and bring them to an event with the Trenton Thunders so on August 28, 2013 the three of them boarded a plane for New York for a once in a lifetime trip. The trip included a Trenton Thunder's game, New York Yankees game and a sightseeing tour around New York City. Javaris and Jalex got to hang around their favorite MLB player and mentor David Robertson with his family and even attended a birthday party for Luke Robertson, David's son. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ux8Cx6aQ4k&feature=share

Thank you David Robertson for a once in a lifetime trip full of special memories!

The Johnson Family by Judy Holland

We would like to show you some of the families that we have helped in the last two years. The Johnson family are one of the first families that we met and wanted to help. Below is the profile page taken off Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa's page.

Robert and Mandy Johnson live in Brookwood, Alabama. They have a total of 6 children between them. Their youngest is Anthony, who has DeGeorge Syndrome, a disorder caused by a defect in chromosome 22. (The disorder causes a variety of medical problems such as heart defects, behavioral disorders, a compromised immune system, loss of hearing, cleft palate, hypoparathyroidism and other serious conditions.)

On April 27th at 5 AM, a tornado ripped through Coaling, Alabama, approximately 8 miles from where the Johnsons lived.When the storm passed, Robert headed to Coaling to help clear debris and help with rescue efforts. He kept hearing reports that more bad weather was on its way, so later that afternoon he headed home to gather his family and head to the tornado shelter located on his neighbor’s property. There were 15 people and 2 dogs crammed into the tiny storm cellar. The cellar had a series of 2 doors, the first of which was ripped off the hinges by the wind. It took 2 teenage boys and 2 grown men to keep the 2nd door closed. Robert recalls the wind roaring and debris and dirt flying into the space. The children were all crying and screaming. Everyone was terrified. When the wind had stopped, they all emerged from the cellar to find complete devastation. Everything the family had was gone. Their home was a pile of rubble and their vehicles were mangled.

This was all that was left of the Johnson's home. They lost everything they owned including their cars. 

This was an extremely difficult time for the whole family, but especially for Anthony, who needs his familiar surroundings to feel safe and secure. After living in a small camper for about a month, then moving temporarily into an apartment, then renting a home in Brookwood, the Johnson family are finally living in their new Habitat home.


Their new home was built by Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa with the help of High Socks For Hope Inc., Northport Church of Christ, Nick's Kids Fund, ST Bunn, Dempster Family Foundation, Bama Concrete and several other local companies.The family finally moved into their new home in October 2012.

 

Anthony asked for a baseball room and was thrilled at all his new things! Anthony met Terry Saban at a Christmas dinner in 2011 and became her fan for life. Nick and Terry Saban signed a football for Anthony's new room. It is also filled with baseball memorabilia from David Robertson and Ryan Dempster. 

Bob Johnson and Robert Johnson at the dedication. Bob never gave up on the Johnson family and worked hard to make sure they had a new home. Thank you Bob for your dedication to help Tuscaloosa rebuild. 

Justice's room is filled with girly things and she loved it!

The Johnson family in front of their new home September 2012

Robert Johnson. David Robertson, Erin Robertson, Mandy Johnson, Justice Herren, and Anthony Johnson at a Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa Thanksgiving luncheon in November 2011

The Dempster Family Foundation 22 Q Mystery Tour Bus stopped by in 

June 2012 to visit and see the house in progress. 

How are the Johnson's doing now?

Robert, Mandy and Anthony Johnson are still loving their home in Brookwood. Anthony has so much room to play inside and out. Robert and Mandy Johnson volunteer their extra time with the Brookwood Volunteer Fire Department. Anthony who is now in middle school is thriving and playing baseball just like his hero David Robertson. After all the trauma and the uncertainty the Johnson family are doing wonderful. They now have a basement that their entire family can come to during a tornado. They sleep in the basement whenever there are tornado warnings in Tuscaloosa.....and they feel safe.

Anthony helping with the yard work

Anthony Summer 2013

 With help from people like you....the Johnson family 

are living happily ever after....

If you would like to help another family you can make a tax-deductible donation to "High Socks for Hope Inc." and mail it to

3617 McFarland Blvd

Northport, AL 35476

You may also donate money through Paypal. The email address for the account to send money to is highsocksforhopefund@gmail.com

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What Does High Socks Provide For People? by Judy Holland

I'm sure many of you are wondering just what does High Socks For Hope mean when we say that we furnished a home for a family. In the last two years we have partially or completely furnished many homes. In the months after the tornado in Tuscaloosa most of the families we helped had nothing but the clothes on their backs when they emerged from the rubble of the storm. The families now have clothing but many still have little else. When they move into their new home most of them have been living in hotels, in the shelter, with relatives or friends and some even live in their cars. Many are renters and did not have renter's insurance. Below is a list of some of the things we provide.

Den: Couch, Love Seat, End Tables, Coffee Table, Lamps

Kitchen- Kitchen Table, Chairs, Dishes, Pots and Pans, Crock Pot, Silverware, Kitchen Towels, Pot Holders, Electric Can Opener, Garbage Can, Kitchen Gadgets, Baking Sheets, Tupperware, Glasses, Knives, Corning Ware, and  Dish Detergent

Bath- Shower Curtain, Shower Curtain Liner, Hooks, Rod, Bath Mats, Towels,Toiletries, garbage can

Bedroom- Headboard, Bed Frame, Set of Mattresses, End Table, Dresser/Mirror or Chest of Drawers, Lamp, Comforter Set, Sheet Set, Pillows

When there are children in the family we try to decorate their room according to the request of the child if we can. We may have pictures, toys and accessories for the child's room.

Laundry Room- Washer and Dryer, Vacuum Cleaner, Cleaning Supplies, Garbage Bags, Vacuum Bags, Hardwood Floor Mop


Some needed clothing, blankets, blow dryer, shoes and etc.

Some families still need basic items in Tuscaloosa because they have lived in temporary housing situations with no room to store items for their new home. Some have a few things and we try to supplement what they do not have. The families we have helped in Tuscaloosa have been low-middle income families. We are still helping in Tuscaloosa. It will take years before Tuscaloosa has completely recovered. Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa will build dozens of homes in the next two years for families affected by the tornado on April 27, 2011.

Some people ask why we provide so much. Have you ever though about losing every single thing in your home? Look around the room you are in right now and think about what it would take just to replace that one room. What we give the families is to help them get a new start in life, to make the children see there is something to look forward to, something good to come out of such a traumatic experience.

We have several projects in the next couple of months. We want to provide for the families in Oklahoma the same items that we provide in Tuscaloosa and New York. We have committed to furnishing several homes in Oklahoma in the next few weeks with Mike Baumgartner and the Disaster Assistance Mission. We are also working with the Rancho Grazos neighborhood in Granbury, Texas and will be decorating several children's rooms who lost everything in a tornado there in May 2013.  If you would like to help go to www.highsocksforhope.com and see how you can donate.

There is nothing better than to see a smile from a child who loves his new room! 

Example of a typical bathroom that we decorated.

Javaris seeing his room for the first time.

Sometimes we even do "Angry Birds" themed rooms.

What is High Socks For Hope? By Judy Holland (Managing Director for High Socks For Hope)

Hello and welcome to High Socks For Hope's first blog entry! I wanted to start a blog to explain who we are and what we do. David and Erin Robertson created High Socks for Hope, a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation, to help those affected by tornadoes,hurricanes and other natural disasters.



This is taken off of our website www.highsocksforhope.com;

High Socks For Hope, a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation, was founded by David and Erin Robertson after tornadoes ravaged David’s hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2011.  High Socks For Hope’s mission is to lend support to charities and organizations helping those affected by tragedies and to provide humanitarian services for individuals in need.

David Robertson is currently a pitcher (#30) for the New York Yankees.  He was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is a 2004 graduate of Paul W. Bryant High School, where he played baseball and led the Stampede to the Class 6A state playoffs in the school’s first year of existence.  He attended the University of Alabama in 2005 and 2006 where he ranked among all-time school career leaders in strikeouts, appearances and saves.  David was named to the 2005 Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-America team as well as the 2005 Freshman All-SEC team as selected by the league’s head coaches, and named a freshman All-American by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Magazine. He was a Freshman All-SEC selection by SEBaseball.com and a Third-Team All-SEC pick by SEBaseball.com after leading the team in games (32) wins (seven), ERA (2.92) and saves (eight) and setting the single-season rookie record for most strikeouts (105) and overall highest average of strikeouts per nine innings pitched (12.8). He also led the SEC in lowest opponents average (.105).

David was drafted by the Yankees out of the University of Alabama in the 17th round of 2006 Major League Baseball Draft and became the fifth former Alabama player to wear pinstripes.  He played summer league in Cape Cod for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in 2006 where he was named MVP of the Cape Cod League Playoffs, then signed with the Yankees in August of 2006.

David is currently in his sixth major league season with the Yankees. He has helped the team to a World Series Championship in 2009 with two playoff wins, one in the ALDS and one in the ALCS. Robertson was also named to the 2011 American League All-Star roster. He finished the season with 100 strikeouts, becoming the first Yankee reliever since Rivera (in 1996) to record 100 strikeouts in a single season. Robertson finished his breakout season with an AL-leading 1.08 ERA, 13.5 K/9 ratio (2nd in the AL), and an MLB-leading adjusted ERA+ of 410. He also received exactly one (1) point in the voting for both the AL Cy Young Award (the only non-starter or non-closer with a vote) and AL MVP (the only reliever with a vote).

David and Erin met in Harwich, Massachusetts in June, 2006 and they were married in January, 2009 in Bedford, New Hampshire.  In August 2012 they welcomed their first child, Luke Joseph Robertson.

On the evening of April 27, 2011 David and Erin Robertson were in their New York apartment when they heard the news that a tornado had ravaged his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. David immediately began calling his parents, grandmother, brother and other relatives that live in Tuscaloosa and could not reach them. David and Erin watched the news and heard the reports of many deaths, homes destroyed and it was in that moment that they decided they wanted to help, wanted to make a difference. David's family were spared any damage but his hometown would never be the same.  David and Erin decided to raise funds, start a foundation and have worked tirelessly to help rebuild Tuscaloosa. They decided to name the foundation High Socks For Hope because David wears his high socks during the game. They have accomplished amazing things in Tuscaloosa. 

I met David and Erin in June of 2011 and began working with them. My parents Billy and Faye Pearson have played a huge role in the volunteer work. Because they own a business and building in Tuscaloosa County, they offered a space to house all the donations, provided trailers and helped organize the relief efforts. My parents continue to help every day and we could not have accomplished so much without them. We also had tremendous help from other organizations, individuals, churches and so many donors. Some of the projects in the beginning were to help people clean up and gather what belongings they could, provide food, clothing, toiletries, medical supplies and temporary housing. High Socks for Hope provided the funding to repair roofs, build porches and stairs, remove trees, and repair cars damaged by the storm. Since 2011 we have furnished several hundred homes, bought hundreds of mattresses and helped many other organizations with their relief efforts including Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa where we have sponsored several homes.

Two years later I am still working with David and Erin Robertson and am honored to be able to do so. We are still furnishing homes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama every month for people who were affected by the tornado in 2011. It will take years for Tuscaloosa to completely recover. The tornado devastated several large neighborhoods and the rebuilding will take a very long time. So many of the people that we help have lived with relatives, in hotels and we even found some living in cars. We have strict rules and demand proof that they were indeed storm impacted from every person we help. David and Erin Robertson are very hands on with High Socks For Hope and approve every project. 

 We had such amazing support from all over the United States for Tuscaloosa and now we want to give back.  We have furnished several homes in Far Rockaway, New York and Union Beach, New Jersey. We have also sent several loads of mattresses, emergency supplies and volunteers out to New York to help. We have made trips with supplies to Oklahoma and Texas this summer and have some projects soon in those states.

I know this first entry is wordy and I promise to try to cut it shorter next time! In the next few weeks I will be blogging about the families we have helped, how we have helped them and how we will continue to help in the future.

We need monetary donations in order to help.  If you would like to donate to High Socks For Hope you can do so at www.highsocksforhope.com. The website has instructions for how to send a check or donate by credit card.