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Couple receives note shaming them for their unpainted house, now hundreds have donated to help

Couple receives note shaming them for their unpainted house, now hundreds have donated to help
TED: THIS STORY STARTED WITH A NOT SO NICE LETTER WRITTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THIS HOME. AND IT MAYBE ENDS WHEN THE LETTER GOES AROUND THE WORLD. >> IT’S SURREAL. I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE THE RESPONSE. TED: JIMMY CURCURU NEVER THOUGHT HE HAD A PROBLEM WITH ANY NEIGHBORS, BUT LAST MONTH SOMEONE LEFT THIS ANONYMOUS NOTE IN THE MAILBOX, SIMPLY SAID, PLEASE PAINT ME. EYESORE. >> THE FIRST RESPONSE, I WAS VERY UPSET ABOUT IT. BECAUSE IT SAID WE NEEDED A PAINT JOB. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE ALL KNEW THAT. THE THING THAT UPSET ME THE MOST WAS THEY DID NOT HAVE THE NERVE TO SIGN IT. WHEN THEY SIGNED IT, YOUR NEIGHBORS, I KNOW A LOT OF THESE NEIGHBORS, AND I KNOW THAT THAT WOULD NOT COME FROM ANY OF THEM. TED: LIKE MANY HIS AGE, JIMMY AND HIS WIFE MARILYN HAS HAD SOME HEALTH PROBLEMS. HIS WAS HEART SURGERY, AND MARILYN WAS DIAGNOSED WITH MS YEARS AGO. SO HOME IMPROVEMENT WASN’T AT THE TOP OF THE LIST. THEN SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENED AFTER THE LETTER ARRIVED AND THE NEIGHBORS FOUND OUT. >> ONE OF OUR NEIGHBORS STARTED THE GOFUNDME PAGE AND IT JUST EXPLODED. THERE ARE A LOT OF ANONYMOUS DONATIONS. A LOT OF THEM ARE $5, $9. AND YOU KNOW THAT THESE PEOPLE DID NOT HAVE A LOT OF MONEY, BUT THEY FOUND THE TIME TO MAKE A DONATION. TED: DOES IT RENEW YOUR FAITH IN THE HUMAN SPIRIT? >> YES, IT DOES. TED: MAYBE THAT ANONYMOUS LETTER WRITER GOT WHAT THEY WANTED AFTER ALL, SINCE THERE IS ALMOST $50,000 IN THE GOFUNDME ACCOUNT TO PAY FOR A NEW ROOF, NEW WINDOWS, AND THE DONATION HAS COME FROM ALL OVER THE GLOBE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT PAGE, FIND IT ON OUR
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Couple receives note shaming them for their unpainted house, now hundreds have donated to help
Jimmy and Marilyn Curcuru have lived together in their house in the Portuguese Hill area of Gloucester, Massachusetts for more than 50 years. They raised their three children there, and previously owned a small business in the community.But in late July, the couple received an anonymous note, purportedly from a neighbor, in their mailbox. "Please paint me!" the note said, calling their house an "eyesore."Jimmy, 71, said he was "very upset at first," not because of what the letter said, but that whoever wrote the note "didn't have the nerve to sign it."He said they knew their house had fallen into disrepair, but various health issues had recently prevented him and his wife from doing large home improvements."It was cowardly of them to write a letter like that," Curcuru said.Their daughter posted the note on FacebookIn 2006, Curcuru had a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery. His framing business was subsequently closed for months and "never really recovered from that," his daughter, Michelle Curcuru Baran, told CNN. Curcuru also developed kidney issues the next year from medication he was taking following the surgery.Curcuru's wife, Marilyn, 72, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis several decades ago and had been using an electric wheelchair, but became bedridden about four years ago. Their oldest daughter, Lynanne, left her job to become her mother's caretaker.Curcuru had been working part-time at a hardware store until two months ago. His doctor had advised that he stop working there until the COVID-19 pandemic improved, but Curcuru decided two months ago to retire altogether to "stay home more and be with a little more."Baran said her father always did the best he could, but health issues have made home repairs both physically and financially difficult for the Curcuru family.She found out about the anonymous note mailed to her parents, and posted a photo of the note on Facebook."To my concerned neighbor, thank you for letting me know my house needs to be painted. Guess what? I know. I've been working on it for almost four years," Baran wrote. "I myself always drive by houses that look like mine and wonder what's up in their lives. I don't judge them not knowing what they may be going through."Hundreds of people have donated to help them repair their homeOnce Baran made her post public, the response and outpouring of support for her family was swift, she said.The very next day, people were offering to paint the house for her. The mayor of Gloucester even stopped by to ask how she could help. Within the next few days, a neighbor started a GoFundMe page for the family."The was written the day that it happened, so our original thought was anger, especially my sister who lives in the home with them and has sacrificed so much...it's hurt and anger at the beginning," Baran said. "But as the weeks have gone by and you see this outpouring from the community, at this point the person who wrote the note doesn't really matter."As of Sunday morning, the GoFundMe page had raised more than $45,000 from over 700 donors from across the globe. The money will fund not only a new paint job, but repairs to the home's leaky roof, and replacements to rotted clapboard siding and some windows that have not been updated since the 1950s, Baran said.While they still don't know who wrote them the note calling their home an "eyesore," the Curcurus, who recently celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary in June, say they are thankful for everyone who has come out in support of their family."It's very emotional for me to talk about it. For everybody who put money in, who sent us checks, we're going to send a thank you note to every one of them. There are no words for me to say...to thank them properly for what they're doing," Jimmy Curcuru said.

Jimmy and Marilyn Curcuru have lived together in their house in the Portuguese Hill area of Gloucester, Massachusetts for more than 50 years. They raised their three children there, and previously owned a small business in the community.

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But in late July, the couple received an anonymous note, purportedly from a neighbor, in their mailbox. "Please paint me!" the note said, calling their house an "eyesore."

Jimmy, 71, said he was "very upset at first," not because of what the letter said, but that whoever wrote the note "didn't have the nerve to sign it."

He said they knew their house had fallen into disrepair, but various health issues had recently prevented him and his wife from doing large home improvements.

"It was cowardly of them to write a letter like that," Curcuru said.

Their daughter posted the note on Facebook

In 2006, Curcuru had a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery. His framing business was subsequently closed for months and "never really recovered from that," his daughter, Michelle Curcuru Baran, told CNN. Curcuru also developed kidney issues the next year from medication he was taking following the surgery.

Curcuru's wife, Marilyn, 72, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis several decades ago and had been using an electric wheelchair, but became bedridden about four years ago. Their oldest daughter, Lynanne, left her job to become her mother's caretaker.

Curcuru had been working part-time at a hardware store until two months ago. His doctor had advised that he stop working there until the COVID-19 pandemic improved, but Curcuru decided two months ago to retire altogether to "stay home more and be with [Marilyn] a little more."

Marilyn and Jimmy Curcuru
Michelle Baran
Marilyn and Jimmy Curcuru in their Gloucester home.

Baran said her father always did the best he could, but health issues have made home repairs both physically and financially difficult for the Curcuru family.

She found out about the anonymous note mailed to her parents, and posted a photo of the note on Facebook.

"To my concerned neighbor, thank you for letting me know my house needs to be painted. Guess what? I know. I've been working on it for almost four years," Baran wrote. "I myself always drive by houses that look like mine and wonder what's up in their lives. I don't judge them not knowing what they may be going through."

Hundreds of people have donated to help them repair their home

Once Baran made her post public, the response and outpouring of support for her family was swift, she said.

The very next day, people were offering to paint the house for her. The mayor of Gloucester even stopped by to ask how she could help. Within the next few days, a neighbor started a GoFundMe page for the family.

"The [Facebook post] was written the day that it happened, so our original thought was anger, especially my sister who lives in the home with them and has sacrificed so much...it's hurt and anger at the beginning," Baran said. "But as the weeks have gone by and you see this outpouring from the community, at this point the person who wrote the note doesn't really matter."

As of Sunday morning, the had raised more than $45,000 from over 700 donors from across the globe. The money will fund not only a new paint job, but repairs to the home's leaky roof, and replacements to rotted clapboard siding and some windows that have not been updated since the 1950s, Baran said.

While they still don't know who wrote them the note calling their home an "eyesore," the Curcurus, who recently celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary in June, say they are thankful for everyone who has come out in support of their family.

"It's very emotional for me to talk about it. For everybody who put money in, who sent us checks, we're going to send a thank you note to every one of them. There are no words for me to say...to thank them properly for what they're doing," Jimmy Curcuru said.