Relief Efforts for Bruce Whitehead

I'm sure almost everyone reading this is aware of the tragedy that hit our dear Bruce and his partner, Jerome. If not, the story begins here:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=90211

And continues here:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=90233

For Bruce and Jer, it's been a nightmarish rollercoaster of horror and joy and grief and tremendous loss. Unfortunately, they were not insured and will have to start from scratch to rebuild their home.

<EDIT: donations no longer required...THANK YOU ALL!>

Some words from Bruce:

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I guess the one thing I REALLY want people to know that if they can do nothing for us, and again we expect NOTHING... Then just do something nice for another person. If they drive past an emergency. Pick up a few coffees and drive back. If this happens in their neighbourhood, dive into the sock drawer and head out in the street to find those that are barefoot... All those little things make it a bit more bearable.

I love you all so much and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If nothing else, having snake people to talk to while I was going through this was a god send.

Virtual communities are so very real and tangible and play such a vital role for so many of us. It can never be underestimated the ways in which people make technology powerful instruments of peace.

Bruce

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Judy,

I am so glad you are doing this! I was trying to figure out how to get things to them as well...

Thank you for making it easier!!

I'll be sure to hit up that paypal come payday...this is a great initiative bp.net has taken and I couldn't be happier to be a part of it. This community never ceases to amaze me since day one when I joined. Bp.net you rock!

If anyone has any questions about helping out Bruce and Jer...please don't hesitate to ask...here or in PM's...either is fine!

I emtpy th paypal account ( saddly it was not much) I not used it in almost 2-3 years.I was shcoked there was any funds in ther once this weeks over I will add some more funds.:(

Judy, you guys rock. :gj: Donation sent.

I appreciate this being done. I may not have much, but what little I have will be going out their way.

I will scrounge up what I can and will work on a couple gift cards as well so household items and so forth can be purchased more easily. After all, we are family here, right? ;)

Had to get my mom to use her PayPal. Good luck with everything Bruce!

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Originally Posted by mechnut450

I emtpy th paypal account ( saddly it was not much) I not used it in almost 2-3 years.I was shcoked there was any funds in ther once this weeks over I will add some more funds.:(

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Just FYI, you don't have to have money in your PayPal account in order to use it and send money from it. If it is linked up to your bank account or a credit card you can use funds from those or you can even send funds using a credit or debit card without having or logging into a PayPal account at all. :)

Great job Mods! Another reason that I am proud to be a member on this forum....
Quoting Bruce made my heart go out, even if you personally couldn't do anything then paying it forward would be enough.
I love this, Imagine everyone with this train of thought.
Thank you for setting this up is all I can say
Rusty

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Originally Posted by mlededee

Just FYI, you don't have to have money in your PayPal account in order to use it and send money from it. If it is linked up to your bank account or a credit card you can use funds from those or you can even send funds using a credit or debit card without having or logging into a PayPal account at all. :)

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yeah I know but I just spent over 100 bucks this week on aspen and a set of mower blades, and i got a check out still for the thermostat. ( right now I could use a credit card to finish up a few other need to replace stuff. ( but I don't believe in plastic it causes too many troubles. ) So I have to plan my purchases very carefully.

I'll be washing out some hides and sending them over. I love Lowe's, and I found some great hides there. I'm not currently using them, and Bruce needs 'em more than I do. I'll be stopping by the post office on Thursday after pay day. There's only a couple, but I'll help as much as I possibly can.

I'm very happy to help. It's very comforting to know that BP.net really IS a family forum.

Just came back from Paypal. I am so glad you guys are doing this. Even just a bit from everyone is a HUGE help. I know a big part of the reason my BPs are healthy & breeding is that people like Bruce & Deborah took the time to answer all of my questions on husbandry,etc., so I am glad to be able to give back just a little of what I received. Bruce really needs all the help we can offer right now.

Glad to see someone put this together. I mentioned it in Bruce's original post but didnt have time to get with any Mods to see if it could be done. I will be sending a nice donation come friday once my job gives me my bi weekly donation :D

What are their pants lengths? I saw earlier that the waist was 34"...

I wish I could do more, but I had a gnarly car repair bill today.

That being said, I personally wear a lot of 34 waist short and large shirts.

Would they be opposed if I just sent them some of my lightly worn clothes? I don't have anything else to give right now.

I would be happy to "take the shirt off my back"

Also, if anyone has direct contact with them can you please pm me... Thanks

I just sent what I could..

Is there a specific store where they can get the reptile supplies they need that we can get gift cards through?

I sent some money.
No Memo spot appeared though, so please include my name. :(

It was under my account with the same username.. so maybe you'll see that.

Bruce, in full respects, what each of us sends you may not be much whether it be 10 dollars or 100 dollars, but when hundreds of people send what they can, it will add up. I hope it's enough to make things just a bit easier.

Money sent. I hope everyone can pitch in a little.

JonV

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Originally Posted by Shadera

I just sent what I could..

Is there a specific store where they can get the reptile supplies they need that we can get gift cards through?

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You could probably contact Rich at Reptile Basics and see if he would be willing to accept funds as a credit for them to use when they are ready!

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Originally Posted by rabernet

You could probably contact Rich at Reptile Basics and see if he would be willing to accept funds as a credit for them to use when they are ready!

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That was the store that came to mind, but I didn't know if Rich will ship to Canada or not. Thanks! Payday is coming soon and I'll try and get something else sent.

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Originally Posted by Shadera

That was the store that came to mind, but I didn't know if Rich will ship to Canada or not. Thanks! Payday is coming soon and I'll try and get something else sent.

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I don't know if he does or not either. I don't know what limitations are set on dry goods. Could probably also check with Big Apple Herp as well.

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Originally Posted by Soterios

I wish I could do more, but I had a gnarly car repair bill today.

That being said, I personally wear a lot of 34 waist short and large shirts.

Would they be opposed if I just sent them some of my lightly worn clothes? I don't have anything else to give right now.

I would be happy to "take the shirt off my back"

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I think that is a lovely thing to do and I'm sure it would be appreciated. :)

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

Also, if anyone has direct contact with them can you please pm me... Thanks

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Bruce's cell was lost but I will try to speak with him today by phone at the contact number I have. Please PM me if there's something you need to know.

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Originally Posted by Shadera

I just sent what I could..

Is there a specific store where they can get the reptile supplies they need that we can get gift cards through?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by rabernet

I don't know if he does or not either. I don't know what limitations are set on dry goods. Could probably also check with Big Apple Herp as well.

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I'll contact Rich at Reptile Basics today and see what he suggests about shipping supplies to Canada. :)

Done, hope it helps Bruce.

I just wanted to give a big shout-out to everyone who has donated so far! Thank you SO much! And also to everyone who has promised to do so. I've seen the list, and trust me folks, every little bit adds up fast...it doesn't have to be a lot in order to make a difference! So thank you all so very much for your generosity and heart! This is an amazing community and I'm proud to be a part of it! :grouphug:

I will be donating on Friday when I get paid. I can't give much, but I will give what I can. I wish there was more that I could do. It's nice to see this community pull together and help out a fellow brother.

Rich doesn't ship to Canada but he may make an exception for this.

I am very proud to see this community pull together for one of our friends. Every little bit helps, You guys rock!:gj:

I've contacted Rich at Reptile Basics and I will post what I find out from him

Just got a message from Rich @ Reptile Basics he said he spoke to a mod here so I hope This helps a little

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Originally Posted by Shadera

That was the store that came to mind, but I didn't know if Rich will ship to Canada or not. Thanks! Payday is coming soon and I'll try and get something else sent.

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One companies that ships to canada is the Bean Farm http://www.beanfarm.com/store/agora.cgi

Yea, FrankyKeno already said she was going to contact him today. :P

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Originally Posted by Royal Morphz

Just got a message from Rich @ Reptile Basics he said he spoke to a mod here so I hope This helps a little

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Yea, FrankyKeno already said she was going to contact him today. :P

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I've spoken to Rich just now and once again I'm reminded why I love doing business with this guy. :)

Let me also add my thanks to this site and it's members. You people are quite simply the best there is. Hopefully I'll be speaking to Bruce today by phone. I know he's very, very touched by the outpouring of love, support and concern expressed by the membership of BPNet.

I've also just spoken to Paula at Bean Farm and sent her a few links to these threads. So mods and admins she may be contacting you soon

If you're looking for a store you might want to look for something IN Canada. The American dollar also has higher purchasing power right now too and you wouldn't have to pay customs. I know that this place isn't as reptile specific as some of the other places you're looking at, but I would contact the owners if there's something on the site that they don't specifically carry because if their suppliers can get it so can they. Plus if the order is over $200 there's no shipping charged.

http://www.petsandponds.com/

You can also check out this site for heat tape and a few accessories related to it:

http://www.cornelsworld.com/

I don't know how this compares to American pricing and the dollar values and all that. But at least this way Bruce doesn't get nailed with customs either. Which is annoying.

Also for some of the more basic stuff for building racks and such I think giftcards for Home Depot or better yet Rona would be pretty awesome. A lot of accessories sold for making racks online can be bought at these places for a fraction of the price.

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Originally Posted by Royal Morphz

I've also just spoken to Paula at Bean Farm and sent her a few links to these threads. So mods and admins she may be contacting you soon

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Thanks so much!

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Originally Posted by Mettle

If you're looking for a store you might want to look for something IN Canada. The American dollar also has higher purchasing power right now too and you wouldn't have to pay customs. I know that this place isn't as reptile specific as some of the other places you're looking at, but I would contact the owners if there's something on the site that they don't specifically carry because if their suppliers can get it so can they. Plus if the order is over $200 there's no shipping charged.

http://www.petsandponds.com/

You can also check out this site for heat tape and a few accessories related to it:

http://www.cornelsworld.com/

I don't know how this compares to American pricing and the dollar values and all that. But at least this way Bruce doesn't get nailed with customs either. Which is annoying.

Also for some of the more basic stuff for building racks and such I think giftcards for Home Depot or better yet Rona would be pretty awesome. A lot of accessories sold for making racks online can be bought at these places for a fraction of the price.

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Thanks for that info Stephan. I'll add Rona to my list of places to call about gift cards in Canada. Actually since it's in Boucherville that you have to call, I'll ask Deb to since she's our french speaking Moderator. :) I'm hoping to speak to Bruce later today after he's had a chance to go back into his home and assess what can be salvaged from the snake room. Once we have that information, we'll have a better idea from him about any needs down the road to redo his snake room.

At this point, we're focusing on his and Jerome's personal needs and what we can do quickly to help them out. It has got to be gawd awful to wake up one day and not even own a toothbrush so addressing that need is first up but the snakes needs are also on our list of how can we help.

Again, you people humble me with your generousity of spirit!

OMG - I just read this whole thread and was just devastated. I am new to this site - for about the past year and have thoroughly enjoyed all the help and support I have gotten from everyone.

JLC - I placed a donation for Bruce via paypal but am not sure if the my UserName will appear correctly or not - please add (L.West) to the item you are making for Bruce.

Sincerely,

L. West

I'm so proud to say I am apart of the BP.net community! To see everyone pull together when someone is in need, is just....AMAZING!

Bruce, I just know you & Jer are going to pull through this with flying colors. I will continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm thankful I was able to donate to help such wonderful people in a time of need. I hope it helps ;)

What doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger!

It'll be a hard road to get everything back to "normal", but I hope that what we are able to contribute helps to get you there sooner!! :grouphug:

I just want people to know that we did our first step. We got a storage space to move our stuff into temporarily, which we were able to do because of donations.

If anyone wants to check out the thread on the animals living... the last installment is in there. I just got home with Maude and Samantha in tow!!!

They are going to the vet tomorrow, I am just sick with the time they have been in there without heat etc. But they are alive and they were the last.

I just need to get my rats places and we are done with the last step.

I will type more, gush more, thank you all more, and love you all more, but at the moment I am still in high action mode and we are on the run all day.

Give me a few days and I will do my best to attempt to express what this has meant to me, and how grateful I am for this site and for herpers in general.

Bruce

glad to hear about 100% livign rate so far. I hope that contuines. I also was wondering i know you guys are busy and stress, but any needs that come up let us all know .. also what size ( length in pants boss) I know i hate it when I get pants that I end up walknig the heels out of lol. Thsi a pain when they all say the same size and one pair feels like shorts and the next are like watching a little kid trying to walk in pops pants with thefeet were the knees go lol..

I am hoping to be able to add some more funds this week ( near the end) take care bruce and Jer..

I really stand by my word Bruce if you need any animals to come here. Like i said my house is literally only across the river form Canada which is accessible by ferry.

Ill do my best do donate what i can friday.

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

I really stand by my word Bruce if you need any animals to come here. Like i said my house is literally only across the river form Canada which is accessible by ferry.

Ill do my best do donate what i can friday.

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yeah just tell him how many MORE he may get back right ... if bruce rats are breeding like mine he can open a rodent supply store within 3 months lol.. :rolleye2:

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

I sent some money.
No Memo spot appeared though, so please include my name. :(

It was under my account with the same username.. so maybe you'll see that.

Bruce, in full respects, what each of us sends you may not be much whether it be 10 dollars or 100 dollars, but when hundreds of people send what they can, it will add up. I hope it's enough to make things just a bit easier.

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There is a link that says special instructions for seller.Click that before finalizing payment to add screen name or anything else you want to say.:)

can also copy the email addy and just log into your own paypal account and do everything that way.. :gj:

Thank you for setting this up. I just read about the fire and feel so bad for Bruce and Jerome, but I'm overjoyed that they and the animals are okay. I just got done with paypal, but would like to help more towards a speedy recovery.

Hang in there, Bruce! This will pass and I hope that looking back, you'll find more good came from the experience than bad.

Donation made. I am proud to be a part of this online community! You all are the best!:gj: