CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A Richmond family has donated $10,000 to help a stranger this holiday season.
"We received a $10,000 donation from a very generous family," Madeline Petrie, with Richmond-based non-profit project:Homes said. "Their philanthropic strategy is to provide a really deep impact for one family's life."
This year's recipient is Juanida Candelier.
Candelier, who came to Virginia from the Dominican Republic, and her daughter live in project:Homes Bermuda Estates, a manufactured-home community in Chester.
The $10,000 donation will not only help Candelier pay for home improvements and added safety features but also provide funds for living expenses and necessities like diapers.
"She was someone in the park who really needed support," Petrie said. "The entire donation is going towards supporting Juanida. It's really rare that we're able to do that and support a single family so holistically."
"I felt really good finding that support. I don't have anybody else here in Virginia. I don't have family here," Candelier, who speaks Spanish, said through a translator upon learning about the gift. "Around Christmas, there are so many expenses and just being able to have that peace of mind is really good. I can spend time with my kids because I love them, so that makes me feel really good."
The family who made the anonymous donation through project:Homes hoped their donation would inspire others to give, regardless of the amount.
"[They are] also offering a matching gift of an additional $10,000 if we're able to meet that," Petrie said. "So we're trying to raise $10,000 throughout the holidays, to be able to help more families in Bermuda Estates the way that we helped Juanida."
Anyone interested in learning more about project:Homes' mission to preserve and produce affordable housing in our community can click here.
Donations can be made here.
"This family has just made a tremendous difference in Juanita his life right before Christmas, and it will make a big difference in helping her get back on her feet and improving her life going forward," Petrie said.
"Hearing the struggles that Juanida - like so many in our community - face on a daily basis just to provide for her family moves us enormously," the family who provided the anonymous donation to project:Homes said in a statement. "We're grateful that with project:Homes' support, we will repair her home, make it livable for the family and keep them living there healthily for years to come. Most importantly, our greatest wish is that by providing another $10,000 to project:Homes as a matching donation, we can inspire others to give and help make this Holiday Season a bit brighter for those living in the Bermuda Estates community, like Juanida and her family."
