Vera Johnson | Be a Seed for Change

Can an online petition save a house from foreclosure? It did in Seattle.

Vera Johnson is a single mom from Seattle who was on the brink of foreclosure — despite the fact that she qualified for a loan modification under federal law. But Bank of America reps gave Vera the run-around, making her resubmit endless forms, claiming time and again to have lost paperwork Vera had sent in multiple times.

After 18 months, Vera was fed up. So she started a petition on Change.org asking Bank of America to grant her loan modification.

More than 16,000 people — mostly Washingtonians — signed Vera’s petition. And Bank of America representatives just told Vera they would grant her a permanent loan modification.

http://www.change.org/start-a-petition?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&alert_id=PtmFtDmZny_BImiguPOnn

“I’m overjoyed, and thankful to the thousands who took action on Change.org to help me keep my home and business,” Vera said. “The success of my campaign shows that homeowners can take power back from banks if we work together.”

Making change happen in your community is easy. Start a petition on WWW.Change.org — step-by-step instructions are right here.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Michael and the Change.org team

From her home in Seattle, Vera Johnson owns and operates the Village Green Perennial Nursery. A single mother of two kids, she opens her doors to teach her community about plants, composting, sustainability, and more.

Bank of America wants to put a stop to that: The bailed-out bank is trying to foreclose on Vera’s home and business. When Vera’s family fell on hard times, she asked Bank of America for a loan modification, which she is qualified to receive under federal law. For 17 months, Vera has provided endless copies of paperwork, and has been repeatedly told to resubmit lost or misplaced forms.

Despite Vera’s persistence, and Bank of America’s carelessness, the bank is proceeding with foreclosure.

Bank of America didn’t care to help Vera on her own. So Vera stared a petition on Change.org asking Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan to stop the foreclosure and modify her mortgage payments. Can you join Vera and sign the petition to help save her home and business?

Vera’s nursery provides classes and tours for schools and camps, and internships and training programs for local college students. One person who knows Vera and signed her petition said that her business “is a beautiful oasis that is an amazing blessing to the community.” Another of her supporters said simply, “I’d rather have one Vera Johnson in my community than a thousand Bank of Americas.”

Vera started her petition after signing the Change.org petition about Chase Bank foreclosing on a soldier’s home in Oregon, despite every effort by the homeowner to save the house. “Oh my God,” Vera said when she saw the petition. “The same thing is happening to me. I’m going to launch my own campaign.”

Within days of launching her petition, she received a call from the office of Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. The bank promised to look into Vera’s case, but has yet to help her.

Vera has Bank of America’s attention. If enough people sign her petition, Bank of America will be forced to take action and work with Vera to save her home and business.

Please sign Vera’s petition to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan to stop the foreclosure and modify mortgage payments for Vera’s home and business:

http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-bofas-foreclosure-on-vera-johnsons-home-business

Thank you for taking action.

– Jess and the Change.org team