On April 12th, my family’s house caught on fire. My dad was still inside and my sister was just coming home (my kids, Jake and I were out but rushed home). It went from a popped power line to our home being engulfed in smoke and flames within 3 minutes. Everyone made it out, including our pets, but some needed and still are requiring extreme medical attention. It was the scariest and most extreme thing we’ve all been through. My mom died 3 months ago- the corner stone of our family. Trying to rebuild seems almost impossible but we’re thankful to have what we do have. My 75 year old father punched out a window and jumped headfirst, and while a little beat up, he survived. We are truly lucky.

When we were able to go back in, we salvaged some clothing, my mom’s urn and a couple photo albums. My sister, father and my 17 year old daughter lost everything as their bedrooms are on the first floor. Their clothing was either burned or covered in insulation/ ceiling. All of the kids toys, decorations and memories were touched by flames, water, smoke or covered in ceiling materials and insulation. All of everything is destroyed… everything from kitchen equipment and cleaning supplies to bedding and furniture to all of our electronics, old art projects of the kids to every single tangible memory of my mother. We lost everything.

We do have insurance but the property loss part of it is still being worked through and we just recently found out we were underinsured. We are asking for funds to replace my families possessions- anything from clothing and personal care items to maybe a couple toys and water bottles, school supplies, even a pair of scissors and a notebook to make lists… honestly, the list is so long and we don’t know where to start. Anytime we reach for something that was once so readily available, we realize how much was destroyed. We are also raising funds because this has put my dad out of work for the foreseeable future, as well as my sister, Jake and I for a bit too.

We all have next to nothing. We’ve been shopping a bit but it’s so hard to know how to use the funds we do have right now to replace all of 8 people’s possessions. Any help is so very appreciated. We all don’t like asking for help but we recognize that this is not a time to turn help away and say no to others. We truly are grateful for the help that’s already been given and consider ourselves lucky to have every single person in our lives. We genuinely appreciate every part of this fund that may be given. Thank you will never seem like enough.