Josephine Wright, a 93-year-old South Carolina woman fighting a development group trying to force her to sell her land in Hilton Head, has reached her GoFundMe fundraising goal of $350,000 to hold onto the Jonesville Road property belonging to her family.
The campaign was launched back in May after Bailey Point Investment Group, a development company, attempted to force her to sell the property so that they could build a 147-unit neighborhood that advances on Wright’s land.
Bailey Point Investment owns land on all sides of Wright’s 1.8-acre property after acquiring it in 2014, offering a paltry $39,000 for the home Wright’s family has owned for more than three decades.
Wright vowed to fight to the end, and several celebrities lined up to support the mission, including Dallas Mavericks Point Guard Kyrie Irving and West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg’s record label, Death Row Records. Recording artists Fantasia and Meek Mill have also shared their support on social media.
Months back, Wright’s real-life David and Goliath story made headlines across the country, drawing the attention of several celebrities, including Hollywood mogul Tyler Perry, who shared a clip of a news station interview with his 7.4 million Instagram followers last month.
Perry surprised Wright this month by announcing his plans to build a 5-bedroom home for Wright and several other family families, including five of her grandchildren. Perry’s construction crew will break ground once all of the necessary permits have been filed.
Wright’s granddaughter, Charise Graves, posted a touching update on the GoFundMe page, thanking their supporters.
Read the full statement below.
Dear community,
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Tyler Perry for his generous contribution towards helping Grandma Josephine build her new home. Tyler Perry’s friendship has made a significant difference in Grandma’s life, and we are truly thankful for his kindness and generosity.
Over the weekend, Grandma had a truly wonderful time with her family celebrating the baby shower of her 17th Great Great Grandchild! She can be seen below helping one of her Great Great Grandchildren finish a game for a prize. Grandma travels light, so they were nowhere close to winning the “What’s in Your Purse” game.
Among the highlights of the weekend was Grandma’s experience watching a horror film starring her granddaughter, Tracey. Despite her initial apprehensions, Grandma actually enjoyed the movie and even remarked that it wasn’t as scary as she had anticipated! If greedy, wealthy developers can’t send Grandma Josephine running for the hills, neither can a little demonic possession.
Grandma Josephine would also be remiss if we didn’t extend an enthusiastic thank you to Kyrie Irving’s generous second donation amidst the recent tree falling fiasco. Everyone’s gesture of support and solidarity means the world to us but Kyrie has gone above and beyond anything that we could have imagined from one donor and we are forever grateful. Kyrie, your invite to the new home is in the mail!
God bless you all! Grandma Josephine only asks that you continue to shine the same love and light you have for her, on everyone around you… Strangers and family alike.
