On Wednesday, January 31st, Amy Principato, a single mom with 3 kids (2 teenage twins currently living with her) lost their Villa Park, Illinois home due to a house fire that left the home completely uninhabitable. As if that wasn’t horrific enough, none of their possessions inside were spared.

Here is the news article

The fire started on a cold night when Amy was sleeping after a minor surgery. Thankfully, the kids woke her up in time & they all made it out alive. Amy and her kids are huge animal-lovers living with 4 dogs and 2 cats who are like family to them. After they made it out of the burning house, they realized that 1 dog and 1 cat were still missing. They managed to make their way back into the burning house once more to save the last 2 of their pets trapped on the 2nd floor.

Amy is my step-sister who is always the first to help others, whether friends, family, co-workers or complete strangers. During my own cancer battle, Amy was one of the first people to “show up” for me in every single way possible (check-ins, calls, visits, care packages) and I’ve been forever grateful. But the truth is..... when it comes time for Amy to receive help from others, she is extremely humble and doesn’t feel comfortable asking for help.

This is coupled with the fact that we found out her insurance would not come close to covering all her losses. This is why her family and I felt it was very important to go to the community to ask for support on her behalf. Even though Amy went straight back to work as a server at a local restaurant doing everything in her power to take action, naturally she is completely overwhelmed.

Please help to contribute money that will go to rebuilding their house and purchase essential items, all of which were completely destroyed. They literally got out with just the pajamas on their backs. Donations will help with clothing, groceries, furniture, vet bills, school items for the kids such as computers for their continuing education, to name a few.

Your donations are SO appreciated since the insurance won’t come close to covering the entire loss. It will also take up to 1 year to rebuild the house. Amy and the kids recently moved into a rental which has no furniture. Honestly, every donation no matter the size will help! Thank you!