CLEARLAKE — The Taylor family will be enjoying a truly merry Christmas indeed. When Judy Taylor set out to repair the old broken down mobile home that she and her family lived in, she had no idea the generosity the her family would receive would result in a brand new house for the family.
“I really truly believe that this is a Christmas miracle and a dream come true,” Taylor said. “I just pray for more miracles for the world. I truly am blessed.”
Property Manager Ben Finneston is responsible for the amazing gift the Taylors will get in time for Christmas. Finneston, a repair and construction man, said that when he was hired to fix the Taylor home, it was just too far gone for any improvements to do much good. He said that was when he decided to build a new home for the family with donations and volunteer efforts.
Finneston said that he had a difficult time getting people on board for the project because no one believed what he was doing. “This project was really stressful in the beginning because it was hard to get people to believe it,” Finneston said. “When it became more visual, several local business people stepped up to help.”
The project received a financial jumpstart from Taylor”s mother, Willora Day, of Citrus Heights, who contributed $10,000 to get the project off the ground. The rest of its success can be attributed to Finneston”s determination to see the family in a new home.
“I give all the glory to God and our grateful heart goes to Ben Finneston. Without him, and the loving support of my mother, this would be impossible,” Taylor said. “And the people who have donated their time and materials in making this most incredible gift is truly a gift of the human spirit in such a time of turmoil. It has put our faith back into the love and kindness of people everywhere when hope was almost gone.”
The Taylors were in danger of becoming displaced. Their mobile home was in such poor condition that it was about to be red-tagged by the city. Finneston said he worked with the city officials to avoid condemning the property, moved the family into one of his rentals and began work to remove the old mobile and build a new home.
“The problem is these mobiles are getting red-tagged and the people don”t have any place to go,” Finneston said. “This mobile was impossible to repair. These people were in a bad situation that they couldn”t control and I just needed to do something. I think that they really deserve this.”
Finneston said that building inspectors Bob Gordon and Scott Spivey were especially helpful in the project, conducting special visits for inspections to keep the project moving.
There are five other major contributors to the project, without whom the home would be bare and cold. Mike Huber of Cool Air Conditioning and Heating, Inc. contributed all the labor and materials to install central air and heat in the home.
“We”ve been working with Ben for quite awhile and when he started this project and we learned that it was through donations we thought it was worthy project to support,” Huber said. “We definitely think that this will not only help this family, but also help clean up the community so it was a great opportunity for Cool Air to give back to the community it serves.”
All the appliances in the home were contributed by Lake Appliance. Without completely spoiling the surprise, this reporter will just say that the custom kitchen that the Taylors will enjoy was made possible through the generosity of Mike Henson of Mike”s Custom Cabinets and “The Granite Guy,” Gary Rogers. Finneston said he appreciates the support of Lowe”s in Rohnert Park for its “everyday low prices” as well.
“We are so excited. This is a wonderful thing Ben is doing and I don”t know if we could ever thank him enough” Taylor said. “My husband is disabled; we have a son in high school and we”re waiting for my mother-in-law, who is elderly, to move in, too. So, this house will be a perfect place for us to have our home together.”
The most important thing Finneston said is taking care of people and community. “It was the right thing to do. It”s harder sometimes to do the right thing, but it is better,” he said. “I”m able to sleep at night because I was able to do something before they were evicted.”
Finneston continued, “Whatever way you look at it, we all did the right thing. Now these people will have a roof over their heads for the next 50 years. And, another good thing is we were able to remove an unlivable mobile from the city and replace it without displacing people.”
Finneston said he would like to do something similar for another struggling family next year. He said he hopes that visualization of the project will help people believe that such a project is possible and make gaining support easier to achieve.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
