I wanted to provide you with some information regarding a recent tragedy
that took place last week in our community to one of our stellar supporters.
Kelby Brick, who is the Associate Executive Director of Law and Advocacy at
the NAD and his wife, Jeanette Pereira (JP), home was destroyed in a house
fire this past Wednesday evening, September 1st. The good news is that
Kelby, JP and their two small children Austin - 5 and Cody - 2 1/2 are all
well.
I realize most people will probably know Kelby's name for all the work he
does at the Law and Advocacy Center at NAD. However, prior to joining NAD, he had a private practice in Laurel, Maryland, and he is a member of the
Maryland State Bar Association. Previously he was legislative consultant for
the Consumer Action Network and the Maryland Association of the Deaf, and
legal counsel for Government Affairs at the NAD. For those that do not
know Kelby graduate from Gallaudet in 1994, (an MSSD graduate before that), and received his law degree from Temple University in 1997. Kelby has always been a champion not only for the rights of individuals who are deaf and/or hard of hearing, but also for the interpreter community.
The bad news is the family lost pretty much everything and they will be in
temporary housing for the next several months. As they are beginning trying
to put their lives back together, they are in need of everything and
anything.
Due to the overwhelming number of emails and telephone calls that they have received so far, a website has been created where people can receive updated information about exactly what happened, make monetary donations, and/or donate items such as clothes, toys, and the rest of the *stuff* we use to live on a daily basis. Here is a link to the website:
http://kelbyjp.blogspot.com/. Just as a side note, if someone decides to
make a monetary donation, there is a link on the website that will allow
them to do so. The link will take them to PayPal, and the account is under
Ravenstar, Co. - which is Kelby and JP's business account. This enables
them to keep track of donations instead of having them go directly into a
personal account.
If anyone has any questions, please have them direct them to Michelle Parnes via email at Parnesplan@aol.com, pager at mcparnes@tmail.com, or cell phone at 202.607.9633.
Gordon Vernon
that took place last week in our community to one of our stellar supporters.
Kelby Brick, who is the Associate Executive Director of Law and Advocacy at
the NAD and his wife, Jeanette Pereira (JP), home was destroyed in a house
fire this past Wednesday evening, September 1st. The good news is that
Kelby, JP and their two small children Austin - 5 and Cody - 2 1/2 are all
well.
I realize most people will probably know Kelby's name for all the work he
does at the Law and Advocacy Center at NAD. However, prior to joining NAD, he had a private practice in Laurel, Maryland, and he is a member of the
Maryland State Bar Association. Previously he was legislative consultant for
the Consumer Action Network and the Maryland Association of the Deaf, and
legal counsel for Government Affairs at the NAD. For those that do not
know Kelby graduate from Gallaudet in 1994, (an MSSD graduate before that), and received his law degree from Temple University in 1997. Kelby has always been a champion not only for the rights of individuals who are deaf and/or hard of hearing, but also for the interpreter community.
The bad news is the family lost pretty much everything and they will be in
temporary housing for the next several months. As they are beginning trying
to put their lives back together, they are in need of everything and
anything.
Due to the overwhelming number of emails and telephone calls that they have received so far, a website has been created where people can receive updated information about exactly what happened, make monetary donations, and/or donate items such as clothes, toys, and the rest of the *stuff* we use to live on a daily basis. Here is a link to the website:
http://kelbyjp.blogspot.com/. Just as a side note, if someone decides to
make a monetary donation, there is a link on the website that will allow
them to do so. The link will take them to PayPal, and the account is under
Ravenstar, Co. - which is Kelby and JP's business account. This enables
them to keep track of donations instead of having them go directly into a
personal account.
If anyone has any questions, please have them direct them to Michelle Parnes via email at Parnesplan@aol.com, pager at mcparnes@tmail.com, or cell phone at 202.607.9633.
Gordon Vernon
im glad the family are ok! i know both Kelby and Jeanette -- i graduated with them from MSSD -- im just relieved theyre OK! things can be replaced over time