Young father killed in Ravensdale house fire.

On March 6th our community and my best friends Julie and Ron Vankirk experienced the tragedy of all parents nightmares.  Their youngest child, their son Corey Vankirk, parished in his Ravensdale apartment in a housefire on their property. Corey Vankirk was the loving, attentive, dedicated father to his angel on earth, his everything, his 11 year old daughter Kyla, who thankfully wasn’t home at the time of the tragedy.  Sadly the only thing she has left of him and all she kept in their home together is the blue shirt in this photo.  Today she clings to it holding close all the connection she had with her daddy.

If you have been to Safeway in the last almost 30 years…yes since it was in Goodwill’s parking lot, chances are you have met my amazing friend Julie Vankirk. She has been there since 1993 generously serving in her warm, happy, loving way. Always ready to share her beautiful smile with someone who needs to receive it. If not from there you may know her work with Foster Champs or with the foster families in our local 4 Corners community.  If you or your family had a need for a child Julie probably had it covered for you in one of her many totes or tubs. Now its our turn to help lift her, her husband and her precious granddaughter out of unimaginable grief, circumstances and pain. The wreckage from the apartment that burned faces her everyday out of her kitchen window and the insurance won’t even cover the cost of the clean up to remove it or rebuild it.  Kyla, Corey’s daughter lost her school clothes and everything an 11 year old girl keeps in her bedroom and then there is the cost of a funeral nobody would have ever thought to save for. Please join me in donating to this precious family and please keep them in your loving thoughts and prayers.