METAIRIE, LA, September 25, 2015 – Malcolm Pelham’s main priority is caring for his wife, who has Parkinson’s Disease. Recently, he found out that his childhood home in Metairie, Lousiana is going to be sold out of the family. Malcolm gifted his half of the house to his sister, who needed a place to live, when their mother died. After his sister passed, it was discovered that the house was left to out of town relatives who have no interest in keeping it in the family and plan to sell it. The opportunity now exists for the Pelham family to purchase the home at the appraised, as-is value. While he wants to keep the home in the Pelham family, he is nearing retirement and caring for his wife comes first.
Seeing the desire and need to save his Grandmother’s home from being sold, Pelham’s son, Jay Pelham, has created a GoFundMe campaign in order to raise the money. Jay spoke about the house saying, “I have a lot of childhood memories at this house. And, my Dad has many more from growing up there.” Climbing the old fig tree in the back yard, playing hide-and-seek, and sipping his Grandmother’s homemade root beer are just some of the memories that Jay remembers. Recalling these memories, Jay thinks of his own son, “While memories live on with or without the house, it would be nice to take my son to his Great-Grandmother’s house knowing that his Dad and Grandfather both enjoyed a happy childhood here.”
The GoFundMe goal is set at $75,000 which would fund the purchase of the home. While there are still about $50,000 in repairs and renovations that are needed, Pelham has vowed on Social Media to donate any funds over the goal limit to The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. When asked about his expectations for the fundraising campaign, Pelham said, “I’ve never really believed in these types of campaigns, and am a little embarrased to be asking strangers for help. But, considering I only have thirty days to raise the money, I just don’t have the resources to do it myself.”