Miwok Elementary Collecting Donations for Family Left Homeless After Fire

Minutes after learning that a nearby home burned down, leaving the residents with nothing, Miwok Elementary School began mobilizing to collect clothing, toothbrushes and other basic necessities for the family.

At 6:15am, a fire broke out at a home in the 1000 block of St. Francis, just steps from the school. Inside was a family, a grandmother, a mother and her three children, ages 2, 4 and 6, who escaped the blaze with only minor smoke inhalation and a small burn on one child's leg.

The 6-year-old boy is a student at Miwok and by mid-morning, the school had sent some clothes to the family.

"They lost everything they owned," said an administrator who answered the phone Thursday morning. "We are asking for people to donate anything they can." 

Principal Kim Harper was not immediately available.

The family is staying at a hotel for several days paid for by the Red Cross. Many donations have poured in for the kids, but the mother and grandmother still need clothes and toiletries, which can be droped off at Miwok Elementary School, at 1010 St. Francis Drive. 

The school is also asking fo the community to donate cash and gift cards to stores like Target and Kmart so the family can begin rebuilding their lives.