Hoboken Teacher Left Homeless After Bank Foreclosure; Students Take Action

HOBOKEN, NJ — Some of Raini Webb’s biggest supporters are her students. And when a bank foreclosed on their beloved Hoboken teacher’s house leaving her children homeless, the 2nd and 3rd graders knew they had to take action.

On Friday, more than five dozen students at Mustard Seed School in Hoboken held a four-mile walkathon around the city’s borders to benefit Webb, a teacher’s assistant at the school.

According to a statement from the school, funds raised during the walkathon will go directly to the Webb family to ease the burden of excessive medical costs and help them to move out of temporary housing.

Mustard Seed school administrators said that anyone who wants to help out Webb and her family can visit an online fundraising campaign, which has raised $10,000 out of a $12,000 goal as of Monday.

See the GoFundMe campaign here.

Here’s what Webb's family member wrote about their situation in April:

“In January, our home was foreclosed on. We have been without a home since then and have been paying day to day to live where we are now. Our funds have been depleted. There have been a few that have been able to help and I thank God for them.

“There are five of us in the Webb family. My son Bassell has been dealing with heart disease since his birth 19 years ago and has had three open heart surgeries in his early life. He has been in crisis twice in the last three months and had extensive stays in the hospital each time.

“My daughter had surgery at 18-months-old to remove a benign brain tumor and is still under a doctor's care for the residual effects of that. My husband is still recovering from cardiac arrest in August of 2016.

“I am asking for help, any and all amounts will help our family. We are in dire and immediate need. We are still looking for a place that we could call home that meets all of our medical requirements. It will cost us approximately $10,000 to move in. This would include rent and security and a part of the actual moving process. Whatever is left will help us maintain the space that we are currently in until we can move.”

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Hoboken Facebook page here.

The Webbs provided an update about her situation last month:

“All is about the same physically but well in our hearts. Donations are helping us keep a roof over our heads. We have looked at an apartment and as soon as we have the application fee we will apply. Everyone is medically stable, no one is in the hospital. We are feeling even more hopeful that with your help we will soon be able to get what we need in the form of a place to live… Thank you for the love given, it makes a difference.”

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Photo: Mustard Seed School