Remembering Jackie
If you’re reading this, you likely knew Jackie—either for the outstanding person she was or indirectly through one of our family members. However, before going any further, we acknowledge the existence of this website is ironic—as those who knew Jackie well will attest— it’s doubtful she would have navigated the internet to this site.
What certainly is true though, is that she cared deeply about the community. Once Jackie realized the need for Healing with Homes, she wanted to bring it to fruition. Always quick to volunteer, Jackie would have been at the center of this effort. On this website we outline her vision through the small-town approach of helping one family at a time.
“you wind up where you started but it’s the coming and going that’s fun”
What Home Means
For us, the place we hold dearest in our hearts is our home in North Salem, New York. While Jackie believed the love and support family members provide each other is the primary bond that carries a family, she also believed a home provides a tremendous anchor for a family. For Jackie, it was not unusual to enter through our back door and pronounce “Hello Home, I’m home!” Because of Jackie, our family has a deep, personal connection with our home.
Our home has been, and continues to be, the site of wonderful events and fond memories not only for us—but for everyone we have had the pleasure to host and create magical memories with over the years. From Thanksgiving dinners, pumpkin carving contests, bonfires, ice skating events on the lake, summer pool parties—our home has been the place our family spends time together and with friends. It’s the place we return to; it’s the place where we feel joyful and safe.
Jackie’s emphasis on the home as the underlying connector of a family was, in part, born from her childhood experience. As someone whose mother passed away when she was a young girl, she spent much of her time at the homes of her extended family near their farm in rural England. Despite her loss, she came to realize the meaning of a close-knit family and the importance of a home.
“the world is like a mirror reflecting what you do and if you face it smiling it smiles right back at you.”
Jackie’s Vision
As Jackie set down roots with her own family in North Salem, she began serving on boards of charities in the community. She believed in small towns and, in particular, she appreciated that a community is made of people who know about and care for each other. Jackie knew North Salem as a special place, capable of extraordinary things. Among these special qualities, Jackie thought North Salem to be an ideal place for families who might be restarting. This is true today more than ever perhaps due to the pandemic.
As her charitable work increased, she recognized that despite attempts, many families she worked with were unable to own homes due to the financial consequences of their setbacks. These families required such concentrated aid that oftentimes the organizations helping them were not mandated to provide sponsorship in the amounts necessary.
Before being diagnosed with cancer, Jackie began discussing an organization to help families in these situations restart their lives by making the purchase of a house possible. In her honor, we have decided to pay forward Jackie’s gift to us, the gift of a home, by providing other families with a supportive environment. It is our thinking with this aid, families in need can build warm and loving homes of their own. To those who knew Jackie, Healing with Homes and its mission should come as no surprise.
“I hope those who sit knee to knee across this wooden bridge are joined at the heart and share life’s greatest riches.”
Mandate & Mission
The mandate of Healing with Homes is to provide families with the funds necessary for a down payment on a home in North Salem, New York, or surrounding towns. The mission is to help foster the rebound of families who suffered an exceptional tragedy by providing the initial capital for a home. For our family, when confronted with Jackie’s illness and passing, through our home and the support systems she created in North Salem, we were able to make our way through that challenging period.
When Jackie passed, we found greater meaning in our home 293 Hawley Road. Through this, we learned a home is the best place for any healing family. The marriage of our understanding that not all families have such a grounded home to recover in, combined with Jackie’s discovery that most charities are not structured to provide intensely targeted aid, forged the concept for Healing with Homes.
“sit close or far apart
As the light of days is fading
And cast aside what finds your heart
And the fears on which you’re sitting
And close your eyes and just be still
And feel the beautry of this landThe world unfolds the way it will
In spite of your doing.”
Please help us help others
The charity has received 501(c)(3) status, thus your donations are tax-deductible (but please be sure to check with your accountant).
For those who would prefer to make donations via check, please use the following address: 293 Hawley Road, North Salem, NY 10560