By Brian Pham & Lylyan Yenson
Members of the Fountain Valley community have united to support former and current Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) families affected by house fires that broke out on a city street last month.
“My family and neighbors have gotten lots of help from the school and the district and from people from the community,” former FVHS student Ezequiel Garcia said.
The day of the fire, the Baron Food Pantry worked alongside Robyne’s Nest and the Assistance League to supply families with basic necessities. The organizations continue to supply families through donations from community members.
“They are a part of our FVHS community and lost everything in the fire,” FVHS PAL advisor and Supervision Secretary Dawn Basquez said. “What didn’t catch fire was damaged by smoke or water. You don’t really comprehend how devastating a fire is until you experience it or know someone who has.”
Members of the Fountain Valley Community Forum have also made posts requesting supplies for the families. One member of the group, Gabrielle Mendoza-Mattes, created a Go Fund Me to support the affected families.
“Everything will be handled with total transparency,” Mendoza-Mattes wrote in a Facebook post. “At the end I will be posting how much each family received and to how many families the money was distributed. I will distribute the [funds] to those who do not have [funds] through their own [Go Fund Me] page; that way we can help the less fortunate.”
Community leaders have also stepped up to help the families.
“My friend and fellow FVHS alumnus Glenn Grandis, who is also a City Council Member, is getting an additional $10,000 donated to the families who lost their homes through the Fountain Valley Community Foundation and [is] working to find new apartments for the displaced families,” FVHS English teacher Steven Schultz said.
While many have supported the families during this time, organizers of community support have emphasized that they are still facing challenges and that any clothing, gift cards or monetary donations are still appreciated.
“It may sound like they’ve received a lot from our campus and the community, but they’ve lost everything,” Basquez said. “Think of all of the things you have in your own home. What we have provided so far is a drop in the bucket in comparison to what is needed. It will take a long time to get back to where they were before [the fire].”
The FVHS Supervision windows are collecting donations from Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Herrera and Garcia families have also created individual Go Fund Me pages for donations.
“Anything is more than welcome to help my family and my neighbors get past these tragic times [and] we appreciate anything that helps us get through this,” Garcia said.
