UPDATE: Everyone, I just want you to know how much we all appreciate your donations. We will write every one of you individually a thank you message, but I wanted you all to know the impact you're having immediately. I show the growing pool to Brittany and she is crying. She's so touched that strangers are helping her. The funds aren't just "money"; they're a way back to normalcy. They're a first/last deposit on an apartment. They're food. They're utility bills and car repairs. They're a reprieve from worrying "how". They're hope... So while "thank you" doesn't seem enough to say, I hope this message conveys the meaning behind those words.

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Last night at around midnight, a fire erupted in the next-door apartment to Heather's (and my) daughter's. Luckily she and her 5-year-old daughter were able to escape unharmed, but they lost everything but the clothes they were wearing, a used car I helped her purchase last year, and a basket of laundry we happened to be washing at our home for them. The Red Cross evacuated the residents to a hotel for the night, but now they are all left to fend for themselves essentially. Of course, they are coming to our home to regroup and get some reprieve from this devastating loss, and I'll do what I can to help them get back to some sense of stability, but they will need assistance restoring their lives and property. Clothes, furniture, toys, photos, and electronics; are all gone due to the massive amounts of smoke and water damage. Little Kashlynn was going to start kindergarten in a couple of weeks, and even her school supplies were destroyed. Nothing is salvageable... She'll also now need financial help for a new apartment, rent, food, utilities, etc. And related, any physical donations are welcome; however, until she has a place to put them in, we wouldn't be able to receive anything (as I just don't have the storage space at the moment). Ironically my own home is amid repairs after a flood I had a few months ago.

We very much appreciate your generous support in this time of desperate need...

Update 2022-08-24:

The irony is that Brit is 2 apartments away to the right... So all the damage wasn't the actual fire. It was mostly water and smoke. The firemen cut holes in the roof above her place and then the hoses pour gallons upon gallons of water and foam retardant into it to prevent the spread. I doubt most people ever consider THAT ancillary damage effect... I wouldn't have.

It's so surreal and hasn't quite sunk in yet (for any of us). Kashlynn especially (the 5 yr old) doesn't quite grasp that all her toys and clothes and tablet and stuffed animals and everything she's known & loved in that regard is gone. I think she thinks she's just visiting here at my house like usual while the firemen put it all out and they're going "home" eventually. I think the next few days are going to get rough(er) on her little brain and difficult to explain to her.