Helping a single parent family after a house fire

Hi my name's Carmen and I thought I'd start this Go Fund Me page in an effort to help a very good friend of mine.

My friend's (rental) house caught on fire yesterday (Saturday 27th August) due to a faulty air conditioning unit (which caught on fire, then exploded).

She's a single Mum and yesterday while she was working at her part time job, her two teenage children were at home when the fire started. They ran to the next door neighbour's house in a panic and the thankfully very kind and helpful neighbour called 000, got their pets out and kept the kids safe and calm while she contacted my friend and waited for the fire brigade and police to arrive.

The fire was contained and thankfully everyone (including the pets) are safe. The house unfortunately can't be lived in while it undergoes construction/repairs, however my friend and her kids will live with my family and I at my house until they can move back to theirs.

The landlord thankfully has building insurance, however my friend unfortunately didn't have contents insurance (please, no judgement required, she already feels terrible).

Whilst the fire brigade did an exceptional job of containing the fire (seriously, they were wonderful and thankfully arrived SO quickly), unfortunately the damage to my friend and her kids' belongings is virtually irreparable due to smoke, soot and water damage.

We're hoping that her appliances will be reparable, but their clothes and most of their furniture will need replacing, which is obviously a huge cost (not to mention stress) for a single Mum.

I might add that this friend of mine, despite not having a lot of money herself, has been the first one to donate money to the causes and misfortunes of others.

Another friend of ours recently set out on an epic (5,000+km) bike ride from Wilsons Promontory to Cape Tribulation to raise funds for brain cancer research after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Once I shared his story on social media, she was the first person I know to donate.

A few years back another friend of ours had what can only be described as a tragic birthing story when their daughter was born, and this friend called me straight away asking what she could do to help. I told her I was going to make them some meals so they wouldn't have to worry about cooking on top of constant hospital visits, so this friend promptly transferred me money to help with the groceries.

A few years prior to that, yet another friend's Mum passed away due to an aggressive and sudden cancer a very short while before her wedding, which was obviously a horrible tragedy for the whole family. In an effort to try to help this friend, I put a call out to our friends and family asking if anyone had any contacts who could help out in the way of doing the brides hair and make up or anything else wedding related, and again this friend was the first person to contribute.

She is such a kind soul and would do anything for anyone, she has certainly been there for me and my family over the years and as I've mentioned, she absolutey tries to help anyone and everyone else out even when she doesn't have much herself.

So this is my attempt at returning the favour for all the favours she has helped out with. I'd love to help re-build some of her and her kids' home in any way possible, so if you'd be so kind as to even make a small contribution, we would be incredibly grateful.