Saturday, December 05, 2015

Our Army Iraq veteran, Sam, had a few hours with the kids before he went into work at 5pm today. So he took his sons along to help him with an emergency vehicle repair to earn some money for his back taxes. He showed the boys how to replace brake pads/calipers and bleed the lines.  Since then, several people have requested Sam’s on-site* mechanical expertise.  Sam must have his entire tax payment of $947 before January 14, 2016 in order to keep his house from the LRA.  If you’d like to make a donation or have a job for him, please text or call PRTR at 314.467.0127 or e-mail our executive director at [email protected] for Sam’s contact information.

(Please note: Donations made to assist with real estate taxes are not tax-deductible. Also, on-site repairs work best if you live on a low-traffic street, or have a yard or driveway where the work can be done safely and without inconveniencing your neighbors.)

Monday, August 24, 2015

Last week, we assisted Mr. A in getting a few dollars together, updating his driver’s license, and obtaining other paperwork necessary to enter a payment agreement with the Collector of Revenue in order to save his home from the auction block.  En route to City Hall, he asked what other kinds of work PRTR does.  When Mr. A heard about another one of our clients, Miss Debra, and her upcoming surgery/recovery, he could not bear that she had no air conditioning in her home.  He told us he had a spare window unit to give her, and asked only for transportation to get it to her house and install it in the window of her choice.

Today, Mr. A heaved his A/C into the backseat and hauled it over to the Miss Debra’s home.  At Miss Debra’s front door, the two were introduced for the very first time, and Mr. A immediately set to work.  Miss Debra sat on her bed, recovering from her latest doctor’s visit as Mr. A installed her new window unit.  Once it began pumping a cool breeze into Miss Debra’s bedroom, she perked up: “Thank you, oh, thank you!”  She handed him a few dollars and insisted, “Now, young man, you go buy yourself a soda-pop.”  As it turns out, these two live only a few blocks from one another.  This is what building strong neighborhoods looks like!