Emergency Fund for the Warda Family 

In the early hours of Monday (2/7) morning, our sister, Kristin, and her family, suffered a devastating fire in their second floor apartment in Princeton, Illinois. As they narrowly escaped, they lost EVERYTHING. Kristin’s husband, Art, was alerted of the fire by their heroic cat, Freya. In a matter of mere minutes, Art woke Kristin up, opened their only door to a staircase filled with heavy smoke and flames, and in moments, woke their two children, Abby and Ryan, from their beds and rushed to kick out a small window from one of the bedrooms to reach the slanted roof of their building. Within minutes, first responders were there to guide them as carefully as possible to “slide” down the 1.5 story roof to land to safety. They escaped with physical injuries from the fall, but with their lives, thankfully. And as they did, the roof they found safety on burst with flames, within minutes. Forever grateful they are alive, however, they lost EVERYTHING. They did not have seconds to spare to take anything with them. It is a haunting story. And it is horrific experience that they will live with forever. The goal of this GoFundMe page, set up by Kristin’s siblings, is to help alleviate the enormous financial burden ahead of them now. Without renter’s insurance, they will need to replace the contents of their home and start to build again. The town of Princeton has been supportive of the family and has helped them with clothing, shoes, etc. They have begun to replenish toiletries and basic need items as they reside with Kristin’s oldest son, Sean. With the funds raised here, it is our hope to provide her family with a rental deposit and furnishings for their two bedrooms, living room and kitchen. Please consider contributing a small donation as we help them work through this tragedy and move on to a better life.