From Nextdoor to ‘Heart of Happy Valley home’: How neighbors rallied around family in need

Nickie Pennington bought a Park Forest home last fall with two goals: renovate it to create extra income that could help pay for the health battles she and her daughter are facing, and eventually move into it. But when those health battles and unforeseen circumstances made the renovations seem impossible, it was a group of neighbors who stepped in to help.

Pennington, a Centre County native, has stage four breast cancer that’s spread to her bones, lymph nodes, adrenal glands and lungs. Her daughter, Elisabeth Pennington, was diagnosed in 2021 with primary spinal syringomyelia, a rare and painful disease that involves the forming of cysts inside the spinal cord. They both went all-in on renovating the home last fall with the aim of seeing the project completed by mid-winter.

Once completed, they planned to list the home on Airbnb as a way to raise funds to pay for the mortgage and for medical treatments while the two were out of state for treatment, and then move into the house.

In early December, Elisabeth said they spent the last of their funds to fly to California so that Nickie could receive specialized cancer treatment. While there, they left the renovations to a third party that she said ultimately left the home in worse shape.

It made the project more extensive, Elisabeth said, and she lacked the physical strength, funds and time necessary to get it all done.

“I was distraught — I hurt all over and couldn’t finish everything else that needed to be done,” Elisabeth said. “I just kind of felt a little lost, hopeless. There was a lot riding on the renovations being done, and I was worried that if I didn’t find a way finish them, that everything else around us would just sort of fall apart.”

What she didn’t expect was that the residents from neighborhood she just joined and the surrounding community would pull together to help.

Nextdoor post draws big response

In mid-December, as a shot in the dark, Elisabeth posted on Nextdoor, a social media app designed to help neighbors communicate with one another, to ask if anyone was willing to offer up their services to help finish work on the house while she returned to the West Coast the following day.

That night, Patton Township resident Kerry Richards volunteered her time to help.

Richards didn’t stop there though. After Elisabeth left for California, she continued to do work at the house, as did 28 other community members who saw the post and wanted to offer their time and assistance, free of charge.

The community members took on tasks that ranged from cleaning, organizing clutter and removing trash, to drywall installment, door removal and replacing tiles in various parts of the house.

“What we were able to do here is just something so amazing,” Richards said. “To be able to help this family in need while they’re going through such unimaginable challenges was an easy decision to make, and it was one that I’d happily make again.”

Jakob Simmet, a Ferguson Township resident, used the social media experience he gained while working as a music festival promoter to help spread the word about the Penningtons’ situation, leading to more volunteers.

He also provided some of the home’s furniture and helped with the hauling and disposal of trash.

“I’m a believer that if somebody is in need of help, regardless of whether you know them or not, you should always do whatever you can for them,” Simmet said. “When I saw the Nextdoor post I figured that I could lend a hand, and thankfully it seems like I was able to help out with (the Penningtons’) problem in a big way, and I’m incredibly grateful to have been able to do that.”

Simmet and Richards circulated volunteers through the house to help with the renovations, until the Penningtons were able to see it for themselves on Jan. 3.

While Elisabeth knew about the community’s efforts through communications with Richards — and through peeks from the home’s Ring doorbell — her mother had no idea about the volunteer efforts.

“It was amazing, watching my mom open that door,” Elisabeth said. “She was teary-eyed as soon as she saw the place, and honestly I almost was too. I couldn’t believe that so many people came to help us out like that. Their help meant the world, and it truly felt like a miracle to us.”

That night, Elisabeth gathered as many volunteers as she could to show gratitude for their efforts. She wanted to extend an especially large “thank you” to Richards — the person who contributed most to the renovations.

She gave Penn State super-fan Richards a Penn State football helmet signed by the legendary late Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris.

“To be honest, I really didn’t expect to get anything — a simple thank you was way, way more than enough,” Richards said.

‘Heart of Happy Valley’

Because so many people came together to complete the renovations, Elisabeth said it now stands as a symbol of kindness, love and community, and embodies the spirit of Happy Valley — “a place where even in the darkest of times, light still shines through.” Elisabeth and Nickie call it the “Heart of Happy Valley home.”

With the majority of the renovations on the home now complete, it’s been listed on Airbnb since December, while some of the renovations were still ongoing. When the pair were away in California, Richards monitored the house and helped out those who were staying there.

The Penningtons are looking to provide low-cost or free stays in the home to people who are also fighting medical battles.

“We want anyone who stays here to feel welcome, no matter who they are,” Elisabeth said. “My mom and I are both fighting off life-threatening conditions, and if there are people out there like us that are looking for a place to stay around Penn State, we want them to know that they’ll definitely have a place to stay at the Heart of Happy Valley home.”