A local fundraiser has been created to help a couple who lost everything in a January house fire.
Friends of Ronceverte (FOR) founder, and Ronceverte City Councilmember, Tanya Hazelwood reached out to victims Margaret and Steve Kirk shortly after finding out about the fire, looking to help.
“I have been friends [with Margaret] since second grade, a very long time,” Hazelwood told The West Virginia Daily News. “Steve is a city employee. He’s the guy that goes around and reads the meters for the water. … The house was Steve’s childhood home, that’s where he grew up. It was his parents’ home. He’s quite upset about that.”
Photo courtesy of Friends of Ronceverte |
After finding out about the fire, Hazelwood “immediately contacted [Margaret]. I was like, dude, what do you need? How can I help you? She [said] we need everything. There was already a GoFundMe page, so we shared that. Then we created a donation button on the Friends of Ronceverte group page.”
“I’m coming to you today because there was a Ronceverte family [hurt by a recent fire],” said Hazelwood on the FOR Facebook page. “They’re very nice people – they lost everything they own and their home on January 25. We are coming to you to let you know that we will be fundraising for this family, to try to get them back on their feet. … It’s pretty devastating to lose everything you have, I can’t imagine what that feels like. Let’s get this family back on their feet. Let’s show them what Ronceverte can do for them.”
The GoFundMe was organized by Margaret Kirk’s sister, Misty Brown.
“My sister’s family lost their home last night to a house fire in Ronceverte,” reads the GoFundMe. “They have nothing left. The house will be bulldozed at some point. They have nowhere to go and nothing but the clothes on their backs. Thank God they all made it out in time. I am trying to raise money for them in this difficult time. With the harsh winter weather no one should be out in the cold. Please if you can donate anything will certainly help at this point. Thank you so much!”
Since the initial call for donations, the FOR members have jumped in to help with clothes. Hazelwood explained that as of Tuesday, “they’ve got enough clothes to last a lifetime, because people donated. They don’t really need household stuff.”
Photo courtesy of Friends of Ronceverte |
The fundraiser is not only occurring online, however. Hazelwood explained FOR planned a new fundraiser during their Monday, February 7, meeting. The goal is to create a physical object, resembling a house, divided into parts.
“We’re going to sell 100 parts for $20 apiece,” said Hazelwood. “[Then we’re going to have a raffle where the individual sold parts are entry tickets]. The winner of the raffle, [drawn by Steve and Margaret Kirk], will get $500 and then the rest will go to the Kirk family.”
In the meantime, Hazelwood directed people to the donation links or the in-person collection locations.
“Please [consider] helping by donating on the GoFundMe page that was shared previously, donating on the FOR page or in person at Wild Child, Masters Used Cars or Masters Mech & Tech,” reads a FOR post. “Thank you in advance.”
The GoFundMe can be found at gofundme.com/f/6b3f7m-house-fire-family-left-with-nothing.
The FOR PayPal link can be found at the FOR Facebook page, or by googling “PayPal Friends of Ronceverte Inc Kirk Family House Fire Donations.”
Margaret Kirk declined to be interviewed for this story but thanked the paper for the help.
Photo courtesy of Friends of Ronceverte |
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