Helping Families at Rainbow Terrace
Donation protected
Anna, a single mother, has been living at Rainbow Terrace for four years with her three children, ages 7, 4 and 7 months. Anna and her family lost everything in the fire that ripped through Rainbow Terrace last week.
The stress of the situation has been extremely hard on Anna and her young family.
Anna’s children lost all of their things – their furniture, their toys, their clothing, their books, their school uniforms, everything. It has been especially hard for Anna’s infant. Anna’s baby was born prematurely and is now suffering from kidney disease and congestive heart failure. At the time of the fire, the baby had just recovered from the flu. The two older children miss their home – the only home they have ever known. They can’t stop talking about what happened – they are still scared. They are having a hard time sleeping and eating.
Anna and her children lost everything in the fire, but the absolute worst part for Anna was losing her memories – namely her deceased mom’s belongings. Anna’s mom passed just over a year ago, on December 12, 2016. The fire took all Anna’s pictures of her mother, plus her mother’s diplomas, her mother’s clothing and the furniture she inherited from her mother. Anna is forced to again grieve her mother’s loss -- but this time without the benefit of pictures and items that would once soothe her.
However, even with all of this, Anna isn’t just thinking about herself. Anna said to us, “It’s not just me, my neighbors lost everything too, we [have] all been living at our homes for a long time. Then to see people [and] kids outside, wearing nothing, when we had to leave really hurts me. We all lost everything.”
On March 26, 2018 at 3:30am, a fire erupted at Rainbow Terrace Apartments in the 7000 block of Garden Valley Avenue. When the first fire broke out and was fought by firefighters, it was thought to be extinguished -- but it reignited at approximately 4:30am.
As shown in the attached photo, the fire was enormous and frightening, to say the least. The blaze ultimately displaced thirty families, including many school-aged children, as well as younger children and infants.
Luckily, and most importantly, there was no loss of life and no major injuries were sustained.
The Red Cross is generously helping 30 families with emergency shelter, temporary placement and other short-term needs. However, these families have lost everything. Every resident who wants to return to Rainbow Terrace can, but the families now need to rebuild their lives and homes.
We are working with various non-profits and local agencies finding ways to help the families. For example, the Cleveland Furniture Bank is an important local resource for families. It will help families by providing two beds, a living room set, and a dining room table and chairs. However, from what we understand thus far, the Furniture Bank may entail a cost for users.
Rainbow Terrace families need your help to rebuild their homes --- acquiring furniture from the Furniture Bank (or elsewhere) plus other household needs (food, appliances, clothing, shoes, diapers, toiletries, school uniforms, school supplies, etc.).
Our fundraising goal is $5,000 per family, for a total of $150,000.
This campaign is being led by Lifelong Learning, a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency. Lifelong Learning runs programs at the Learning Center at Rainbow Terrace. 100% of money donated through this campaign will be used to help the 30 families affected by the fire. You may learn more about Lifelong Learning here: www.llcommunity.org.
To acknowledge the unpredictable nature of social media, a note: All money raised will benefit the families affected by the fire. However, if contributions exceed our fundraising goal, a scholarship fund will be set up to benefit the Rainbow Terrace youth in consultation with the Cleveland Foundation.
Thank you,
Bridgette Smith (Director, Rainbow Terrace programs)
Candice Greenberg (Director, Lifelong Learning)
The stress of the situation has been extremely hard on Anna and her young family.
Anna’s children lost all of their things – their furniture, their toys, their clothing, their books, their school uniforms, everything. It has been especially hard for Anna’s infant. Anna’s baby was born prematurely and is now suffering from kidney disease and congestive heart failure. At the time of the fire, the baby had just recovered from the flu. The two older children miss their home – the only home they have ever known. They can’t stop talking about what happened – they are still scared. They are having a hard time sleeping and eating.
Anna and her children lost everything in the fire, but the absolute worst part for Anna was losing her memories – namely her deceased mom’s belongings. Anna’s mom passed just over a year ago, on December 12, 2016. The fire took all Anna’s pictures of her mother, plus her mother’s diplomas, her mother’s clothing and the furniture she inherited from her mother. Anna is forced to again grieve her mother’s loss -- but this time without the benefit of pictures and items that would once soothe her.
However, even with all of this, Anna isn’t just thinking about herself. Anna said to us, “It’s not just me, my neighbors lost everything too, we [have] all been living at our homes for a long time. Then to see people [and] kids outside, wearing nothing, when we had to leave really hurts me. We all lost everything.”
On March 26, 2018 at 3:30am, a fire erupted at Rainbow Terrace Apartments in the 7000 block of Garden Valley Avenue. When the first fire broke out and was fought by firefighters, it was thought to be extinguished -- but it reignited at approximately 4:30am.
As shown in the attached photo, the fire was enormous and frightening, to say the least. The blaze ultimately displaced thirty families, including many school-aged children, as well as younger children and infants.
Luckily, and most importantly, there was no loss of life and no major injuries were sustained.
The Red Cross is generously helping 30 families with emergency shelter, temporary placement and other short-term needs. However, these families have lost everything. Every resident who wants to return to Rainbow Terrace can, but the families now need to rebuild their lives and homes.
We are working with various non-profits and local agencies finding ways to help the families. For example, the Cleveland Furniture Bank is an important local resource for families. It will help families by providing two beds, a living room set, and a dining room table and chairs. However, from what we understand thus far, the Furniture Bank may entail a cost for users.
Rainbow Terrace families need your help to rebuild their homes --- acquiring furniture from the Furniture Bank (or elsewhere) plus other household needs (food, appliances, clothing, shoes, diapers, toiletries, school uniforms, school supplies, etc.).
Our fundraising goal is $5,000 per family, for a total of $150,000.
This campaign is being led by Lifelong Learning, a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency. Lifelong Learning runs programs at the Learning Center at Rainbow Terrace. 100% of money donated through this campaign will be used to help the 30 families affected by the fire. You may learn more about Lifelong Learning here: www.llcommunity.org.
To acknowledge the unpredictable nature of social media, a note: All money raised will benefit the families affected by the fire. However, if contributions exceed our fundraising goal, a scholarship fund will be set up to benefit the Rainbow Terrace youth in consultation with the Cleveland Foundation.
Thank you,
Bridgette Smith (Director, Rainbow Terrace programs)
Candice Greenberg (Director, Lifelong Learning)
Organizer and beneficiary
Bridgette Smith
Organizer
Cleveland, OH
Lifelong Learning
Beneficiary
