BLACKSVILLE, W.Va. — Residents in western Monongalia County are lending a helping hand following a devastating fire.
Donations have started to be accepted, both in physical and virtual forms, to support a Blacksville family that is very active in the community that saw their house destroyed in a Tuesday morning blaze.
Blacksville resident Kaitlyn Wilson, who is leading those efforts, joined WAJR’s “Talk of the Town” on Wednesday to encourage donations of cash and clothing that will be accepted at select Blacksville community locations and virtual fundraising locations.
“The family is very involved in the community, they are in 4-H, and they have suffered a house fire that started from a tool shed, and then eventually it spread to the house,” said Wilson. “It ended up in a total loss, which is very, very sad for the family.”
According to Wilson, the shed fire that spread to the home prompted the family to relocate to temporarily live with a relative as community members work to gather supplies and donations of all kinds. Along with the acceptance of all monetary donations and household items, items of clothing will be accepted for both parents as well as the three children who were in the home at the time of the incident. A full list of requested items can be found on social media pages hosted by Wilson and other members of the Blacksville community.
“The dad would wear 2XL shirts, 36×32 pants, and size 13 shoe, the mom and their teenage daughter are of adult small with size 26 through 26 pants and size 7 shoes,” said Wilson.
Along with donations for the three older-aged members of the family, clothing donations are also needed for the two younger members of the family. This includes clothing for a boy and a girl, with the boy’s clothing for the ages between 10 and 12 and a girl who is around the age of 7. Clothing donations will be accepted at locations of select community partners helping the family through this terrible time.
“The boy is a size 10-12 shirt and a size 10 in jeans and then a 6 in shoe, size youth,” said Wilson. “And then their little girl is a size 6-7 shirt, a size 7 in jeans, and a size 2 in shoes.”
For those wishing to donate, opportunities will be available throughout the next few weeks both virtually and physically. Along with independent stores and social media pages that will provide donation boxes and web links to support the family, the Blacksville Volunteer Fire Department will also accept donations over the next few weeks. With pickups expected to be arranged daily, members of the Blacksville community encourage anyone wishing to help out someone in need to do so.
“We have the mom’s Venmo, which I can give to you, or if you’re local, you can stop by Weezer’s in Blacksville, the hot dog shop, or you can get ahold of someone and we can arrange a pickup, and it’ll go directly to the family,” said Wilson.