Campaign started to give back to family struck by Wellesley fire
Posted Feb 16, 2019 06:55:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A new campaign has been started to help give back to the family devastated after their home was burned down Friday in Wellesley.
Andrew Foster, a New Hamburg resident, is the man behind Waterloo Region Helps: Wellesley, the fundraiser in support of the family. He heard the news about the family losing their home and wanted to give back.
“There's an online community group that I am a member of in Wilmot Township here,” Foster tells KitchenerToday.com. “We look after each other and help each out when there's times of need. I just happened to see that posting and posted it in that Facebook group and I couldn't believe the overwhelming response I received from the Wilmot community members who wanted to support and help out.”
Foster has never met the family before. He actually spoke with the 27-year-old father of four for the first time this morning.
“They're completely devastated. A very tragic situation for them. Thankfully everybody is safe. They were actually out doing their afternoon shopping when the fire occurred and they came home and saw the police cars blocking off the road, not knowing exactly what was going on. Once they got closer to their house, they took a bit of a detour and then realized the tragic circumstances; it was actually their house that was on fire, engulfed in flames.”
The family includes four children, ranging in age from six months to seven years old. Foster says the family has lost everything as their house was completely destroyed. The most urgent need is clothing for all members.
“As I'm sure you can appreciate, they lost everything so from regular items that you would buy at a hardware store to shovels, things like that. They require anything and everything to get them back on their feet.”
Foster says gift cards would be greatly appreciated, including gas cards to get the father to and from work. He said the family has been deeply touched by the support.
“They are obviously still in a state of shock but their reaction to the support of the community is very appreciative. I think the father even came to tears at one point in time during our phone conversation.”
The fire occurred Friday afternoon, which marked the start of the Family Day long weekend. Foster says the timing is having a deep impact on members of the community.
“Quite honestly I think this maybe hits a little closer to home, this weekend more than any being the Family Day weekend.”
As he is spearheading this initiative on his own, Foster is also asking for volunteers to help deliver any donations to the family. If you want to donate or help in any way, you can find a link to the campaign's Facebook page by clicking here. You can also reach Foster by email, watregionhelps@gmail.com.
There has been a GoFund me page set up as well. You can find that by clicking here.
