FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Fort Lauderdale family that was left homeless after a fire broke out received some very generous gifts from their community.
Rachel Boles and her five children got an early Christmas gift after Friday’s blaze at their home, located at Northwest 18th Court and 10th Avenue, changed all their plans.
Crews were able to put out the flames, but the home was left uninhabitable.
“They don’t have anywhere to live. They’re living in a motel right now,” said Tawanda Sims with Elite Events Management.
Fortunately, Sims and St. Ruth Baptist Church in Dania Beach stepped in to make sure the family could still have a merry Christmas.
“Kids look forward to having a beautiful Christmas morning, and when we got the call that they lost everything, but not their lives .. we’re giving food, toys, clothes, toiletries,” said Sims. “We wanted to make sure that this family did not feel the effect.”
Donors provided everything possible for this family with so many immediate needs.
“We have members of the church who donate, people who I went to high school with. It’s just a community effort,” said Lisa Rogers Cherry, chief of staff at St. Ruth Baptist Church. “Everybody pitches in, everybody knows that we do this every year, and it’s just something that gives us joy, to give back to the community.”
Boles said her faith never wavered, and she’s grateful for all the helping hands.
“Being able to get my kids out safely, and now we’re here and alive and being blessed from a lot of agencies and people all around just being able to help reach out to me and my children,” she said.
Rogers Cherry said many of her congregation’s members saw their own struggles this year, and this was a perfect way to give back.
“We’re blessed to be a blessing,” she said.
The gifts didn’t stop there. The family also received gift cards from Publix and American Express, and Big Man Kelly from HOT 105 provided the family with tickets to Santa’s Enchanted Forest.
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