How your donations help...

We have worked numerous families within our communities, and have listed just a couple of them to highlight how we help them, and how we use the monies donated and raised, to help those in need.

Riley  /  Grayson  /  Rhonda  /  Family X  /  Nager  /  Family A  /  Picozzi  /  Laurie  /  Mr. P 

RILEY

The family is the Riley family.  Michael is a former City of St Augustine Firefighter who has Early Onset Alzheimer’s and Encephalopathy with Rapid Decline and is totally disabled and requires 24/7 care.  His wife Lani and son Sean are his caregivers and help this former firefighter with his activities of daily living.  Mrs. Riley lives on Michael’s disability check and lives from paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet while caring for her husband. They often must decide between paying her health insurance bill or getting her brakes fixed.  She is also emotionally and physically exhausted with caring for her husband 24/7.  She currently takes Michael to the Council on Aging twice a week for four hours.  On the one day of rest she has to clean the house and on the other day she has to do the household shopping leaving no time for herself. 

The Krewe of the 13 stepped in and paid 6 months of her healthcare and 6 months of an additional care at the Council on Aging giving her not only some financial peace of mind but also some needed emotional peace of mind. 

 

Here is what Mrs. Riley had to say about the Krewe of the 13; “I never thought I would have reason to say ‘Pirates paid my premiums’. My family has been humbled by their awesome display of generosity and compassion. Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s is all consuming with the added burden of early onset our entire family has had to sacrifice to stay at home and care for Michael.  The pirates have given me peace of mind by paying my health insurance premiums.  The Krewe of 13 have also sponsored Michael to attend the Council On Aging.  The COA Sunshine Center is a safe haven for Michael and gives me a respite to either finish my household chores or take a nap from the sleepless nights. Michael enjoys his time at the COA as they keep him entertained and engaged which is something I don’t always have the energy to do.  My family is grateful beyond words that the Krewe of the 13 have extended their kindness to us and given us an opportunity to have two less worries in our lives during these difficult times. Thank you so much Krewe of the 13!”

 
 

GRAYSON

Grayson is a terminally ill 5-year-old boy. Grayson’s family have spent every penny on his medical treatment and have $ 1,200,000 in medical bills.

Grayson’s father takes advantage of every possible hour of work.

To date, the Krewe has:

  • Provided $5,000 for pain medication and medical supplies.

  • Sewed him a pirate outfit and participated in a pirate cruise that he requested.

  • Cooked meals at Grayson’s house and tried to give his family some rest time

  • Accompanied Grayson to medical appointments and sang sea shanties during his procedures to distract him so he remains still.

Our support of Grayson’s family will be ongoing until he succumbs to this disease.

We later became aware that his baby brother, Ethan has intestinal cancer, he is undergoing treatment and will survive.  One of them is being treated in Gainesville, and the other in Jacksonville, so their mother Breanna is going backwards and forwards, sometimes more than once a day. This putting an additional financial burden on the family.  The Krewe helped with an addional $1,000 in the form of gas cards to help take some of the financial stress off them as they go through even more challenges.

RHONDA'S FOSTER CHILDREN

Three children were taken from their parents because their three-year-old daughter was unsupervised and managed to pour boiling water down the lower part of her face, neck, back, stomach, inner thighs, and right foot.  Her parents didn’t want to get in trouble, therefore waited 29 hours before taking little Athena to the hospital. Once they decided to take Athena to the hospital, both parents were arrested and charged with child neglect with great bodily harm.  

The children were placed with Rhonda.  Rhonda is considered the children’s aunt by marriage.  She has been removed from the family for over 15 years.  The state is calling her their aunt and have asked her to take care of these children.

Rhonda was struggling before the three kids came into her life.   She is a single mother to her own daughter Sophia, age 10; and is currently making $15/hour at her job.  The two youngest boys are in diapers. They are going through two cases EACH a month ($200). The two boys came to Rhonda with two sets of clothes, no shoes or jackets.  Athena had no clothes. She was in the hospital for four weeks and didn’t need clothes right away. 

With the added expenses of diapers, lack of clothes, and Christmas rapidly approaching, the Krewe saw a need and stepped in to help this courageous, yet struggling mother.  

The Krewe provided:

  • 12 cases of diapers for the two boys ($600).

  • A $600 gift card to buy clothes, shoes, and toys for Christmas.  

Here is what Rhonda had to say, “The pirates [Krewe of the 13] are amazing.  I do not know what I would have done without their help. They provided at least 3-4 months worth of diapers that I could not afford.  Plus they gave me the means to give these children a Christmas for the first time in their young lives. Poor little Athena got out of the hospital and had nothing.  Some people donated a few things, but she didn’t have shoes or a jacket. The gift card allowed me to provide for her immediately, when I didn’t have the money to do so on my own.  Thank you Krewe 13 for helping us out. We cannot express how much you all mean to us.”

 

FAMILY X

Ms. “x”, a single mom with two children under the age of 10, is trying to start a new life for her family free from violence.  Her divorce in early 2019 provided a safe home for her children, but she struggled financially after receiving no help from the children’s’ father.  Additionally, her employer cut her full-time hours back to part time because of time needed for child care.  This loss of income ultimately resulted in an eviction from her apartment.   Since that time, Ms. “x” found a new place to live and stable employment, but fell behind again attempting to pay her past debts, rent, and all child care costs with no assistance.  She received notice that she was to be evicted right after Christmas.   Our Krewe paid for three months’ rent (directly to the rental company) and also provided a $500 gift card for holiday expenses, a total of $3,454.00.

 

Ms. “X” would like to thank the Krewe for their gracious assistance and encourage other women of DV that they do not have to stay in an abusive relationship- there are people that care and are willing to help! 

 
 

NAGER

Katrina Nager was going through treatments for stage 3 very aggressive breast cancer. (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma). She has a husband and 3 kids. Ages 16, 15, and 6. Her husband is working two jobs to make ends meet. They were behind on rent and struggling with groceries and were unable to buy school supplies for the children.  The Krewe paid one month’s rent directly to the rental agency, and $500 in gift cards for groceries and/or school supplies.

" I truly am at a loss for words as to what to say, I know I cannot thank the Krewe of the 13 enough for what they have done for me. I do not know how I could ever repay such a generous gift, but from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!  I will never forget what you have done for me."

 

FAMILY A

The breadwinner had lost long term employment due to company closure, the family the decided to invest their savings in a training course to open a new career. During the training the breadwinner became seriously ill. The family was doing everything possible to help themselves, including the wife working a minimum wage job while caring for her husband. However, they were losing the battle, they had been eating poorly for several months and were due to be evicted the week before Christmas.

Our Krewe was able to pay two months rent (directly to the property manager) and delivered a holiday dinner.  The family is now back on their feet and have asked to join the Krewe to help us raise money for others in dire need.

 

PICOZZI

Wayne Picozzi lost his job at Sea Ray midway through cancer treatment. His wife Meg has been the primary caregiver for her husband and 2 children, six and eight-year old. She was unable to work full time due to the extensive time required to care for her husband, meet medical appointments/ treatments, along with caring for their two children. The family was struggling to meet insurance, mortgage and daily expenses.  As part of a larger fundraiser, the Krewe donated $2,160 to assist with insurance costs.

 

LAURIE

Laurie had a serious stroke was unlikely to ever return to work and needed to move in with family members to receive the appropriate care. The Krewe assisted with moving expenses.

 

Mr. P

Mr P is in his early 60's and worked as a welder for the same company for 15 years. He was injured but was not been able to prove it was work related, he lost his job. 
Mr P needed surgery to repair the injury and could not work for two months during the recovery period.
The Krewe assisted with a total of $2,000 to cover food and utilities until he could resume work.