FOREST PARK, Ohio -- Athena Pollard is still looking for a home after an April 6 fire gutted the rental home she shared with her seven children.
The fire started when she was on her way home from work, she said. One of her children, who was sleeping after school, barely made it out as their home was engulfed in flames.
Although the Pollard family lost their home, almost everything else consumed in the fire has been replaced -- thanks to more than $1,600 collected by Pollard’s co-workers at Home Care Assistance.
“I'm not gonna say, ‘Oh … I knew they'd do something.’ Just not to this magnitude of giving,” Pollard said.
Paul Kidwell, the Human Resources Manager at Home Care Assistance, helped organize the efforts to collect money and donations for Pollard and her children.
“I thought if everyone did just a little bit we could make this really difficult time just a little easier for her,” Kidwell said.
Pollard and her family are grateful for the donations, but they still need a place to stay. The family of nine has been staying in a hotel, and Pollard said it has taken a toll on her children.
“They're handling it, but it's just like - we don't have a home,” she said. “Where are we gonna go? ‘Mommy, we don't have a home.’ And that's all they've been saying. And I'm just like, ‘Don't worry about it.’”
Pollard is just glad her family can be together.
Pollard created a GoFundMe page to raise money for her family as they look for a home.
