Welcome Home Angel Receives $50,000 from Eshelman Foundation
Wilmington, NC (June 1, 2017) The Eshelman Foundation has awarded Welcome Home Angel with a grant of $50,000 towards its mission to bring joy and comfort to children in the Wilmington area with chronic and physically debilitating illnesses or injuries.
“The Eshelman Foundation is very impressed by the work of Welcome Home Angel,” said Kimberly Batten, Executive Director of the Eshelman Foundation. “The benefit is immediate and the effect is life changing. It is organizations like Welcome Home Angel that make our work so rewarding.”
Recently, Welcome Home Angel completed a project for Cori Reyes. Cori has up to 70 seizures daily, and is completely reliant on her mother’s care, on a 24/7 basis. Welcome Home Angel, under the leadership of Interior Designer, Liz Carroll, was able to come in and completely renovate Cori’s home – giving her a new bathroom that is easily accessible for a wheelchair or shower seat, and a brand new custom-made bed that keeps her safe when she has a seizure. In total, this project cost around $50,000 – but due to the generosity of community members such as Johnson Home Construction and Wrightsville Beach Plumbing, Welcome Home Angel paid less than $14,000 for the entire project. For the first time in Cori’s life, her mother can let Cori nap in her own room, all by herself. The Eshelman Foundation’s funds will go 100% toward cases just like Cori’s – to children who deserve a safer, healthier, happier place in which to live and thrive.
In the past, Welcome Home Angel has served an average of six families per year. The organization expects to see this number double or even triple within the next 18 months, in large part due to the generosity of Wilmington community members, such as the Eshelman Foundation.
Founded in 2007, Welcome Home Angel carries out its mission by renovating and remodeling the bedrooms and other living spaces of chronically ill or injured children with necessary accommodations to make life easier and happier for the entire family. Renovations vary and may include ramps or door widening to accommodate a wheelchair, a new mattress, specialized bathing equipment, and more. If you are interested in learning more about Welcome Home Angel, want to donate, volunteer, or become involved in helping children with chronic illness or injury, email Executive Director, Logan Thompson, at logan@welcomehomeangel.com or call (910) 679-6901.
