On July 11, 2023, the once vibrant
downtown of Montpelier, Vermont was flooded by the Winooski River, and hundreds
of homes and dozens of local businesses experienced catastrophic damages. Jenny
Sebold, a local shop owner and incredible human, experienced devastating losses
as her businesses, Rebel Heart and Pink Shutter, a home goods and gift shop and
a floral design service center, were destroyed and under water. She was shocked beyond belief as her life’s
work washed away in the flood, and due to lack of electricity and shortage of
adjusters and contractors, the damage couldn’t be assessed or addressed promptly. The foundation, walls, the floor, and all the items that were unable to be
retrieved before the waters got too high continued to putrefy as conditions
worsened in the building. No relief
funds are coming in because unfortunately FEMA has not been made available to
businesses, making survival very challenging. And shortage of adjusters means delays in getting
any sort of reimbursement.
This
disaster means nearly everything in the shop needs to be replaced, and this
flood has impacted every area of her and her children’s lives. All her savings has gone towards paying contractors
to help with cleaning, water and mold remediation, damage control, finding
generators and necessary machinery to try and preserve what’s left of the shop
spaces. Almost 75% of her inventory was
lost and that was her only source of income.
We are hoping to raise $100K to help support Jenny
and her family survive these horrific times.
She has been denied unemployment, as she is technically working to
repair a shop in ruins, though she is not getting paid, and FEMA has released
no word on if they are providing funds to small businesses that were lost in
during this unfortunate calamity. Please
support the rebuild of her business, which will include relocating all inventories, and gutting the shop -
all sheetrock needs to come down and be replaced and likely the flooring as
well. Without electricity, the crew faced a delay in cleanup operations which
caused further damage to all tables, desks, and other furnishings.
Additionally, their floral fridge needs to be replaced, a crucial piece of
equipment for running the floral business.
For the time being,
the storefronts of Pink Shutter and Rebel Heart will be closed down. The losses
will be high as this is the peak of the city’s summer tourist season when
visitors normally flock to the mountains, lakes, and picturesque downtown. The stress of this mess has caused a
detrimental impact on her life, and as bills continue to pile up, with money
going out and nothing coming in, Jenny needs our support and the kindness of
generosity of community more than ever.
Thank you for being part
of this incredible journey, and looking for ways to help Pink Shutter/Rebel
Heart and their magnificent shop recover from this terrible flood. We will
update you as things unfold.
Rebel Heart has been a
fixture of the Montpelier Downtown for 5 years now and features home goods like
candles, home linens, women's clothing, basics, new & vintage, denim
everything, books, jewelry, and so many other treasures. In 2020 Rebel Heart
Purchased Pink Shutter Flowers, a Montpelier fixture for over 50 years, and
started offering us some of the most gorgeous houseplants and floral design
services in all of Vermont. Rebel Heart is owned by the loving and vibrant
Jenny Sebold who has lived in Vermont for over 22 years. Jenny’s biggest joys
in life are nourishing and caring for others, and socializing and providing
beautiful heartfelt connection to all who enter her shops. Her kids attended Montpelier Schools and she
has seen this community through many hard times as well as many joyous times.
This store is a crucial piece of the local economy as the majority of their
inventory came from LOCAL artists and businesses. The effects of this disastrous
event will be felt by many Vermonters.