The kindness of strangers: Community helps family recover from fire

MENDOZA FAMILY .psd

By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor

Evangelina Mendoza had just stepped out of her mobile home in Ontario to call on a neighboring family member. Like many busy moms, she popped a load of clothes in the dryer before she left.

That was a big mistake. The dryer caught fire, and within a very short time, she watched everything the family owned go up in flames. Luckily, the Mendoza family’s children were in school and no one was harmed.

It was Feb. 21, and very little survived the blaze except a singed album of family photos.

The family had no insurance, although their son Jose said the family had just talked about acquiring some a week earlier.

The family moved in with relatives and waited to see what would happen next. It didn’t take long. Almost immediately, Jose developed appendicitis and required emergency surgery.

His father, also named Jose, works at a Cashton dairy farm and must have wondered how he could possible restore equilibrium to his devastated family.

But less than two months later, the family is settled in a new home, and Evangelina reported, “We are almost back to where we were.”

Ontario’s local churches pitched in to help the Mendozas purchase a replacement mobile home that, though smaller than the old one, is much nicer.

Meanwhile, staff and students at Brookwood banded together with one fundraiser after another to help the family recover. Even the elementary children had a pajama day to raise money.

According to high school secretary Deb Anderson, seventh- through 12th-graders found numerous ways to raise funds.

The FFA donated the revenue from hypnotist Jim Wand’s appearance to the cause, and the Diversity Club offered an ice cream sundae sale after lunch and hosted a teacher makeover day. Students paid $1 apiece to vote for teachers who would receive makeovers. The top four vote-getting teachers got makeovers courtesy of the students.

Additionally, the junior high offered a bubble gum sale and junior high dance, plus the staff held two blue jean days to raise money.

Evangelina said the family wanted everyone to know how grateful they were for all that was done for them. She smiled often as she recalled the many acts of kindness, offering reminders again and again that her thanks be expressed.

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