This is a story about one of my very best friends Kristin. She is a single mom who works hard to keep her 5 year old daughter taken care of. She's the kind of woman who jumps into sewers to save baby ducks, adopts stray animals and nurses them back to health, she has no problem lending money to her friends even if she knows she won't get it back. She is the most generous, kind hearted and beautiful person I know.

And today I woke up to a frantic voice-mail saying she had been in a fire. The horrifying sinking feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach was nothing compared to the horror I saw on her face when I pulled up as we looked at the wreckage. She was hysterical. She was wearing someone else's sweater, her hair singed off at the ends, her hands were covered in black soot and there was a broken look on her face as she cried.

The night had been just an ordinary night for her, except for this time she was woken at four in the morning by her dog jumping on her bed. When she rustled awake, she heard her 5 year old daughter coughing down the hallway and then realized that she herself couldn't breathe. She hopped out of bed to see smoke engulfing the entire house. There were flames around her as she ran across the house and down the hallway to her daughters room.

She kicked in the door in and grabbed her daughter as she ran outside of the house. She managed to go back inside and drag out one of her pet cages when there was an explosion. Glass exploded around her and she was thrown back onto the lawn. Her dog, cats, guinea pig, bird and other animals were trapped inside when the explosion happened. One cat is known to have made it out in time, but the others were trapped inside.

This is a horrifying story and unfortunately it's true. I'm tearing up as I write this because I know she is too honorable of a person to ask for help, even though she needs it. She has no place to stay, no clothes for her or her daughter, no phone, her pets are gone, she had no renters insurance and she has nothing. So I'm asking for her. She needs help and as a community I really think it's important to come together at times like these and help people who need it the most. Her daughter is staying with her grandparents for the time being but they are 80 years old and this cannot be a permanent arrangement.

Please any little bit will help. You don't even have to donate money. Clothes, food and minor essentials would also be helpful. Please no furniture yet only because she has no place to live at the moment. You can contact me via the email provided. Thank you for taking the time to read!