When the wrenching story of Mildred Gray was told last summer, the outpouring of love, concern and support for her was overwhelming in Michigan’s Great Southwest. It was also an eyeopener for Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski.
Gray, an 88-year old woman from Niles, had walked 1.2-miles from her home to the Treasurer’s Niles office in the heat of a June summer day in a bid to save her home from being foreclosed upon due to delinquent taxes owed on it.
The house that Gray was living in had been in her family for more than 50-years, but was risk of foreclosure for non-payment of overdue property taxes. She had walked nearly one and a quarter miles to meet with Witkowski to see if she could sign up for a monthly payment plan to avoid losing the house forever.
The story of her sojourn was shared by radio, television and newspaper reporters all across the region and started to go viral leading to calls from Berrien County residents interested in helping her pay off some of her tax debt. One generous resident stepped up to pay not just some of Mildred’s back taxes, but all of them saving her from even having to establish a payment plan and clearing any liens from the home.
News of the dramatic turnaround in Mildred’s fate traveled as far east as the eastern seaboard of New York, as far south as Houston, and on a westerly trek all the way to Colorado Springs. As the story spread, excitement grew and that led to conversations that resulted in the creation of a new concept — The Hopeful Home Fund.
Treasurer Witkowski is announcing today the creation of that new fund for others who might like to help individuals and families who might be in jeopardy of losing a home to delinquent taxes owed.
The Hopeful Home Fund will be set up at a local bank, with administration through United Way of Southwest Michigan. For donation purposes, UWSM is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. The local United Way team has a long history of providing funding to organizations and resources in the community that help those who are in greatest need.
If you would like to play a role in the redemption of a tax delinquent property in Berrien County, you can donate to the Hopeful Home Fund, by sending a check to United Way of Southwest Michigan at 2015 Lakeview Avenue in St. Joseph, MI, 49085. To assure the dollars are properly allocated, you are asked to please make reference to the Hopeful Home Fund on your check. Witkowski assures that 100-percent of the funds donated will go to the Hopeful Home Fund, and there will no adjustment of an administrative fee.
The criteria and determination of how the funds are distributed will be the responsibility of the County Treasurer’s office, therefore all calls and requests for support must go to the County Treasurer’s office. The available funds are dependent on donations and will ONLY be used exclusively for homestead properties in Berrien County, Michigan.
It’s just another example of an innovative idea that has gained rapid traction to benefit those who need help the most at the time of their critical juncture in life.
