Renee Firesinger Thorpe has always helped others.
As a mother, wife, daughter, sister, caregiver and a friend to many, she’s offered a helping hand to anyone in need of assistance – but earlier this month it was the community’s turn to rally around Thorpe.
On June 19, 2021, Thorpe and her family came together to celebrate the birthday of Thorpe’s mother. After the party, Thorpe gathered her mom and aunt to take them home and as she was helping her aunt get in the car, her aunt fell backwards onto Thorpe. The two landed onto the asphalt and Thorpe hit the back of her head on the driveway.
After her husband and sister helped her to her feet, Thorpe insisted they get her mother and aunt home safely first, then they headed to the hospital to get her checked. The doctors informed them that Thorpe experienced a subdural hematoma (or a brain bleed), a severe concussion and acute hypertension.
No longer able to work with special needs students in the Central Bucks School District and as a caregiver for a young adult, Thorpe now depends on others for round-the-clock care.
What should have been a happy day for the family quickly turned into a nightmare in an instant. Thankfully she has made tremendous progress in her recovery, but doctors have said the recovery will be long and slow.
Derrick Morgan helped create a charity called Homers for Hope in 2010.
The nonprofit organization was inspired by Rip Roscioli, who tragically passed away at the young age of 30, leaving behind his wife and a 9-year-old-son who has a medical condition.
“Rip loved baseball,” Morgan said. “Both playing and coaching the younger guys. Rip was always there for his friends and frequently put others ahead of himself.”
“Rip’s wife was now faced with the extreme financial challenge of how to provide the care needed for her son while just keeping up with basic life necessities. With the help of several friends raising money through a home run derby, she did receive some financial assistance. Following that event, we saw an opportunity to leverage our love for the game of baseball to help those in need.”
Homers for Hope’s mission is to “provide financial assistance for families that are coping with a traumatic life event at no fault of their own.”
“We organize baseball and softball related events to raise funds in support of paying household bills for these families,” Morgan said.
This allows the families to focus more attention on the hospital bills, rather than having to worry about the bills for groceries and rent being paid on time.
Through 2021 Homers for Hope had helped over 25 families in need and contributed $300,000 toward their bills.
Morgan heard about the terrible situation that Thorpe was in from one of her students.
“My wife and I own Monkey’s Uncle, which is a retro T-shirt boutique in Doylestown, and we have a job training and mentorship program for high school age special needs students that we work with in CBSD support classes,” he said. “One of her students was in our program and that’s how we found out about her situation.”
Morgan and the Homers for Hope charity organization hosted a charity baseball event on June 5 to raise funds for Thorpe. It had a nice turnout of families, friends and fans. However, Morgan made it clear that this was not the type of game to count how many people showed up.
“It’s more about what’s happening on the field, and we are grateful for the supporters who helped us provide this family with the aid they desperately needed,” he said.
For information on Homers for Hope, visit https://homersforhope.org.
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