Help a Peak Community Member in Need

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At 3 AM on Saturday, February 18th, Aliza Alexander was awakened by her dog, Zeke’s, frantic barking. She rushed to the window and was met with a terrifying sight: their barn was engulfed in flames. She quickly called 911 the worked desperately alongside Simon to save their trapped sheep and to prevent the fire from spreading to their family home. Grabbing a garden hose, Simon soaked the roof and exposed side of their nearby garage, a heroic effort that would ultimately protect it from the blaze.

Aliza did what she could to save as many sheep as possible – a dire task fraught with danger.

Tragically, 31 of their 75 sheep perished in the blaze. A neighbor, witnessing the chaos, quickly brought over a cattle trailer to rescue the surviving sheep, transporting them to a nearby farm.

Firefighters from four neighboring districts responded and were eventually able to put the fire out, but the structure was a total loss, along with essential and expensive farming equipment.

By noon the following day, the community had rallied around Simon and Aliza. Friends and family arrived to help with cleanup efforts, bringing food and support as they all processed the shock of the night before. Aliza and Simon were grateful for the outpouring of love and assistance, even as they faced the daunting task of rebuilding.

In a heartfelt message shared on social media, Aliza expressed their gratitude, stating that while the barn was just a building, it represented so much more. It was a space filled with memories, laughter, and the rhythms of their family’s life. The loss felt immense, yet they found solace in the community that surrounded them, ready to help in any way possible.

As the days went on, it became clear that this disaster had not only brought loss but also a powerful reminder of the strength of community. Local volunteers, skilled in carpentry and plumbing, offered their services for the rebuild, and support poured in from the agricultural community across Maine. Simon and Aliza reassured everyone that while they grieved for their sheep and the barn, they were safe, and that was what mattered most.

Donate

The reason for this fundraising effort is that despite having proper insurance, their carrier (of course) found a reason to completely deny the claim. Because Peak Prosperity is a community and because this barn fire has placed a significant financial burden on the Alexander family, we are organizing this GiveSendGo campaign on their behalf.

At this year’s Annual Summit, we were reminded by Simon and Alexander what it means to be a strong community as they described their decision process to buy and operate the Exeter General Store. Why did they add this considerable extra load on their lives? Because, they explained, it was the right thing to do for their community. As one attending member told us:

“Simon and Aliza are the epitome of what this community strives to be.”

~ Summit Attendee

Aliza and Simon’s journey has been a testament to resilience, and their story gives inspiration to us all as they demonstrate the compassion and unity that can flourish even in the face of adversity; skills we will all no doubt need to exercise in the coming times.

This is a moment where we can all “pay it forward.”

Donate to Simon and Aliza

Thank You: Bonus Content

As a thank-you for donating to their GiveSendGo, we’d like to make Simon and Aliza’s presentation from this year’s Annual Summit available to you. We hope you find this presentation as good as many of the Summit attendees.

“The talk about Exeter General Store provided many insights about our small town America, immigration, and the benefits of a cohesive community. Two people can make a difference. Way to go!”

~ Summit Attendee

Originally published at: https://peakprosperity.com/help-a-peak-community-member-in-need/

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So sorry. Let’s keep them in prayer as well:)

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This is a powerful reminder of the importance of communities coming together in times of crisis, not only providing financial support but also emotional support as they navigate the challenges ahead.

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I have a lot to be grateful for this particular day. Godspeed your recovery from this disaster!

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Loved Aliza’s and Simon’s presentation at this year’s summit. Thanks for organizing this, Nick.

I’m so over the scam that insurance has become. And add on top, the weaponization of it against people that “don’t fit”.

Godspeed, Simon & Aliza. Keep shining the light in your community.

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This is the model folks. Caring for our community has been ceded to the government and ngos and we complain about them not doing “their” job well.

Rather than fighting “Goliath” and railing against the machine, let’s be building the alternative.

Willow

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I was surprised to see this appeal. Chris I know your heart is in the right place. But, this kind of appeal does not belong in your official blog/podcast. I

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Or maybe post things like this in a dedicated space here…?

For example, I belong to another forum where there is a space called Requests for Support & Bulletin Board. This keeps all personal requests for any kind of support (financial, spiritual, etc.) from members posted in a specific area which actually helps them to not get lost in the shuffle, too.

Of course, this was a horrific event, so nothing about the members this affected, or debating about how ‘appropriate’ a post is, or whether or not one should consider being generous. Just wondering out loud. There isn’t a dedicated space for requests for support here. Maybe that would make a difference…?

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Hello binkey, could you explain why you feel that way ?

Also, perhaps we have different definitions for what constituates “official Chris”. This post did not appear in the “Podcast” or “Content” section. That’s what I would consider “official”. Posts in the Forum section - albeit - available to the general public, are not quite the same.

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That was the most excellent story of community and perseverance I’ve ever heard.
Even though tragedy was involved Simon and Aliza got through it with grace and dignity.
There’s something to the altruism of doing for others just because you can and there’s a need.
We never know when that need will be ours.
Blessings to you.

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I see it completely differently.

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I subscribe to Chris because he communicates what is weighing on him most. I hope he keeps doing that.

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I’m not Binkey, but…

Well, to be fair, this announcement appeared under the Announcements heading which states: “This is a place for announcements released at the blog from the Peak Prosperity team”.

To me, this seems to be more of what I would construe as being included in the “official” category (meaning, announcements coming directly from the PP team that are related to PP content) vs…well, something else.

Look, Chris can certainly do whatever he wants, and again, this was an admirable thing to do to want to help others. My only intention here was to point out that many posts like this - ones with a plea for help or requests to support others - sometimes end up getting lost in the shuffle. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve read a request for, say, prayers for someone, and then cannot find it again.

If there was a new category that the team could create that was something like Requests for Support (or whatever), I think that would help keep these kinds of “announcements” separate. Either that or maybe change the statement associated with the Announcements category so that it doesn’t only specify content related to what the PP team is posting.

Just trying to help. Carry on…

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Yes, but this is still part of the forums.

I’m not sure that there is a PP Blog per se. There is only a forum tag called “blog”. I must admit, that’s not very helpful.
The sub-navigation “All Blog Discussions” under “Community” is just applying the blog tag as a filter.

For all intents and purposes, following the primary navigation, there is Content, Podcast and Community (Forums).

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I am happy to see this.
When people ask why I dropped my Health Insurance… I explained…
First, after decades of paying in, the first time I really needed it, I found out how quickly they could simply DENY my claims.
Second, I have 3 Rx meds I take (but not daily). 2 got much cheaper, and 1 went up $4/month (my CGM). I was paying $1,400/month for that insurance.

I was HAPPY to donate to these people. I hope many more donate, I see we are NOT even at the 1/2 way point on their goal. I am paying this out of the insurance premiums I no longer pay for health care. (I would rather die on my feet/back than live under that system).

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Thanks for your input.

When push comes to shove, I’m not all that married to this topic. Was just sharing something that came up for me that I thought might help.

The focus should remain on helping the folks in Maine…and anyone else who really needs help with something.

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So I’m late to the party on this thread.
The first thing I said out loud when I read the names involved was ‘oh no’, and thought back to some discussion I’ve had in the past with Simon, and much appreciated his wisdom and honesty at the time.
Like one commentator above alludes to, I believe we as communities now need to insure each other, rather than relying on paid ‘authorities’ who find ways to take our money and say NO in time of need.
Any begging for donations I see that comes across my pages regularly, and asked for directly from dubious recipients gets an instant no from me. There’s some serious repeat offenders in my area.
However, when people I know and/or respect (Chris in this instance) place a public appeal for someone they know I consider based on my own criteria of merit.
Sometimes I give money, other times material goods, and other times my own time or a meal or whatever works best.
I’m happy to do this as we have also been burned by ‘insurances’ and have reduced a monthly pay in, which we will totally cancel in the near future.
I’m now using some of that spare money to benefit the wider world in ways that match my values:
I’m flying to Darwin later this month for family reasons, and using my 23kg luggage allowance to take up clothes I purchased from local op-shops so that remote indigineous communities who have started their own op-shops have access to quality and appropriate goods to sell affordably in their communities without having to pay hideous freight/shipping or post fees just to get the items into their communities. Then they use the funds raised for community development programs. They have a list of most needed items and I’m happy to spend in my local charity shops which are overwhelmed with goods, utilise my luggage allowance and provide needed goods - so everyone wins.
Or, the girl I went to high school with who has cancer, and is a total angel always giving of herself to others.
Or, the local hospital who run a new ‘clothing depot’ for people airlifted in for emergencies and who have nothing to wear once out of surgery and back in a ward for often long recoveries.
I’m late to the party because life has been busy (and bad) here over the last few months, but nowhere near as bad as a what Simon and Eliza have been dealing with.
Each to their own with making donation decisions, and thoughts on if or where a post like this belongs.
Sad news after such sustained development efforts over the years and I hope the community your family have been helping to build is embracing you warmly in these tough times.

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Thank you to everyone who commented and contributed to the Alexander GiveSendGo Campaign. Today I spoke to @simon-alexander on the phone. He shared amazing gratitude for the outpouring of support. They are already on their way to rebuilding and the Peak contributions will be most helpful in their endeavors. There is no way I can do Simon’s thanks justice here, so I will let him share when he has a moment. He will also share photos of the rebuilding in this thread as their project moves forward.

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