# Everyone Please Read-  Extreme Home Makover - HMCS Winnipeg Style



## BinRat55 (5 Mar 2008)

I'm not much of a poster (more of a troller I guess) but I felt this was worthy enough to post, and what better of a place to post it.  If the mods see fit to move it to a more proper forum so be it, and if they see fit to remove it all together - well, i'll deal with that if it happens.  Please read below an email which I have copied and pasted:

From: tamgar1@telus.net
To: kirkblank@hotmail.com
Subject: Extreme Home Makeover - HMCS Winnipeg Style
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 07:18:40 -0800


I'm sending this email to everyone in my email list near and far, in hopes that we can get as much help as possible. After doing a LOT more homework today and talking to Troy myself, I was almost in tears. I've been to the home today with CHECK news (this story is aired Sat night and progress will be followed closely by Check news). Many of you in my list are someone who may be attached to an organization who can offer help in many different forms. 

Master Seaman Troy Stickley and his wife (A shipmate of my husband PO2 Chamberlain) Monica, have a 2 year old son (their youngest of two children) who was recently diagnosed with Retinoblastoma (eye cancer). His parents had to rush him to Children's Hospital yesterday (Feb 29th), to have his eye removed (March 2nd, Sunday) so the cancer would not spread to his brain. 

To add further sadness to an already traumatic situation - MS Stickley and Monica mortgaged their home to have their house renovated. They'd had considerable work done. Their contractor ripped their home apart and then told them that to complete the job - he would need an additional $200,000. They RE mortgaged their home and paid him. He never showed up to finish the job.  

The house is uninhabitable - it has live wires are hanging out and only tar paper on the outside (no siding) and there are only two heaters in the house..... It's NOT in safe enough condition for an ill child to come home to! This ordeal has nearly bankrupted the family. The HMCS Winnipeg passed a hat and managed to raise $1000.00 in order to send the family to Vancouver so the surgery could be done. They stayed a few days in a hotel and then couldn't afford to stay any longer and had to relocate. 

We don't have Holmes on Holmes here, or Extreme Makeover - but this family needs help. The crew of HMCS Winnepeg is going to do their best next week to try and make the house habitable - but they are going to need help and materials.

We hope - that by putting this tragic story out and networking - that the crew of HMCS Winnepeg can get some help finishing this house, and maybe some stores to donate materials - so that this family who is already enduring so much....and this little boy who's already lost the sight of one eye - can come home to a finished (or almost finished) house.

If you as an individual or as an organization are able to help in any way, please contact the following people;
Kristy Falconer    jordonsmum@hotmail.com
Tammy and Gary Chamberlain tamgar1@telus.net or call at 250-xxx - xxxx or if that #'s busy (as we're on dialup and our computer uses our tel #) call me on my cel at 250-xxx - xxxx. 





> my edit (Phone numbers removed for security purposes)


 
Help comes in many forms!!! We're asking for donations of;

Volunteers to help finish the house - and make it liveable!
Renovative supplies
Food for volunteers
Gift Cards purchased and left with the cashiers of Rona Home and Garden in Langford (Beside Walmart)

A bank account will be opened on Tuesday for donations. Donations will be going toward renovative supplies and saving the family mortgage. Please email for bank info if you would like to make a donation. 

THIS STORY AIRED ON CHEK NEWS AT 5 PM AND ON GLOBAL AT 6 PM SAT NIGHT AND THE PROGRESS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY CHECK NEWS THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. Let's bring this family home to a safe environment for two small children.

Thank you for passing this e'mail on.

Tammy Chamberlain
TamGar Boxers Reg'd
Shawnigan Lake, BC


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## MARS (5 Mar 2008)

HMCS YORK is going to get engaged starting today.  We will collect money from our Ship's Company.  I will liaise directly with Kristy and Tammy for more details.

In addition, one of my Chief Petty Officers had his house featured on 'Holmes on Homes' about a year ago and his story was not nearly as tragic as this.  I will liaise with him and see if we can get this situation on their (Holmes') radar.

MARS


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## BinRat55 (5 Mar 2008)

MARS said:
			
		

> HMCS YORK is going to get engaged starting today.  We will collect money from our Ship's Company.  I will liaise directly with Kristy and Tammy for more details.
> 
> In addition, one of my Chief Petty Officers had his house featured on 'Holmes on Homes' about a year ago and his story was not nearly as tragic as this.  I will liaise with him and see if we can get this situation on their (Holmes') radar.
> 
> MARS



Awesome!! Thank you very much!!


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## Haletown (5 Mar 2008)

i just sent it to the Holmes on Holmes website.

Turns out they are looking for stories across Canada at this time.

Maybe some luck will happen.


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## Hawk (5 Mar 2008)

What incredible people you are to help this family out! I wish with all my heart I could afford to help, but my own financial situation isn't too stable at present. All I can offer is my hopes for this family and this project. Best wishes to all involved - you are truly wonderful people.


Hawk


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## MARS (5 Mar 2008)

I have brought this to the attention of the Command Teams of both HMCS MALAHAT (Victoria) and HMCS DISCOVERY (Vancouver).  Hopefully they will turn-to as well.


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## Colin Parkinson (5 Mar 2008)

Saw this on the news, my heart is out to the family for the suffering their kid is going through, but I am glad they are a part of such a larger and caring family, you guys make us proud.


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## sugerray50 (5 Mar 2008)

Thank you Sgt Ryall for posting this to this forum!

I want to say a really deep, heart-felt 'thank you' to all of you who are rallying around this family!  I am just so amazed - I'm just speechless!  I know, Kirk (Cpl Blank....if I've messed up the rank - forgive me Kirk!  I'm a navy wife!.... He's a friend of mine who I originaly sent the e'mail to....and who forwarded it to Sgt Ryall) from High School - and I want to thank him for spreading the word for me.  Anyone who knows Kirk knows what a big heart he has.  It's been almost 20 years since I've been able to see him - and look at how he's helping me out!

It's really important to me to be able to thank those who are not financially capable of helping this family out.  Really - not everything is about money.  Positive thoughts spread positive energy.  I'm told that the movie 'The Secret' explains this very well.  All the well wishes and positive thoughts - and healing thoughts sent to this family work.

You guys are all probably a bunch of big, strapping Army/Infantry/Airforce types (ok - maybe some Navy lurkers, too!) and you're all shaking your head at me right now - but this experience has just confirmed this to me.  Our family doesn't have any extra $$$ to donate to the family, either - but our time is worth $$$ - and between the e'mails/phone calls I receive of people donating well wishes, labour, skills and yes, even money....  Don't doubt for a minute what you are able to contribute (even if it's 'only' well wishes)!

Holmes on Holmes was contacted some time ago, by the family.  They were on the schedule for his help - but a more needy family came up.....it was after that Winston was diagnosed.  That's where we came in   I have no doubt that with the amount of e'mails that Holmes on Holmes received this past weekend - the family will hear from him again - but by then, everything will be taken care of.  Having said all of that, we all did receive auto responses that said it would be 12 weeks before the 'application' would be looked at.

We have opened a bank account for all donations to be placed in.  You can go to any CIBC and make deposits. Transit #05030 Account #8723532.

This whole experience has taken on a life of it's own.  I never expected such publicity, quite frankly.  I originally started this out by e'mailing everyone in my address book who I thought could help.  One of those people was someone I had only met a few weeks before.  Kristy's like me - she was so touched by the situation - she put her head down and started running with this.   Her favourite saying (she's the left brain - and I'm the right brain.....we work so well together!)

We got many suggestions of things to do to help - e'mailing local MPs (not the military police - but Members of Parliament), radio stations, local news stations .... and I did - I burned off the fingerprints off of my fingers, I think ;-) - but did I think anything would come of it?  No...honestly I didn't.  I was just hoping that people who'd just built houses (as we have), or some contractors might have some left over building materials that they could donate.  This has turned into so much more than that....and for that I apologize to the Stickley's because I never meant to pull this much publicity to them - after all - I'm only John Q Public - I'm a Navy wife .... not a big business owner, not a politician, not a tv personality....I'm your average mom  (Ok, who am I kidding - I'm a Domestic Goddess!) - and as a Gary (PO2 Chamberlain) and I agree, if we were in their shoes we would want to protect and shield our child as much as possible. So, we are respecting their privacy and asking everyone to do the same. Quite frankly, it's not only Winston that needs healing time - the entire family needs this time to come to terms with the medical trauma that they've all been through (as we all know, when our babies hurt, we hurt). 

Having said all of that - I am just so touched.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all of your support.  I know that this family is so appreciative of everything everyone is doing.

You guys might have to copy and paste these links into your browsers....but these are the links to some of the news coverage.  You can see any new broadcasts by going on www.checknews.com and clicking on more video....look for anything that relates to donations/saanich/military.  They are in date order.  There should be a new on up tomorrow of footage today (was surprized it wasn't up by 5 pm   They must not have gotten back early enough to edit all the footage 

http://canwest.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/rt/1/site/canwest-cheknews-pub01-live/current/launch.html?maven_playerId=chekmain&maven_referralObject=985bcb27-79b2-458a-a9d0-bb738a12c25b

http://canwest.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/rt/1/site/canwest-cheknews-pub01-live/current/launch.html?maven_playerId=chekmain&maven_referralObject=a92d5ee5-a60c-43b4-bf0a-f699319ef319


Tammy Chamberlain
TamGar Boxers Reg'd
Shawnigan Lake, BC 
http://www.tamgarboxers.com/Home.html
HOLTER RENTAL AVAILABLE

Dedicated breeders - raising happy, healthy, loving Boxers of Quality


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## MARS (5 Mar 2008)

Tammy,

As a Navy lurker I will be the first to say that the Navy is a pretty tight family and we will not sit idly by while a fellow sailor is in need.  I know the army and the airforce feel the same way.  Anything that we can do..we WILL do.

MARS


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