EMPTY STOCKING: Fire leads to car crash
A double-tragedy knocked Kerri to her knees, leaving her family homeless and rendering her unable to work.
On Oct. 7, Kerri was told a fire threatened her daughter and son at the family’s Colorado Springs home.
“I listened to my daughter tell me the fire had just jumped from the garage to the house,” she said. “All I could think about was the kids at home alone watching, and no one’s there for them.”
Rushing home, she rolled her car coming around the corner of the dirt road leading to the house.
“It was a bad day,” Kerri said.
Only her first name is being used to protect her privacy.
The neighbors helped her 14-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter, and so did the American Red Cross, she said.
“They showed up at the hospital,” Kerri said. “They were absolutely amazing.”
And even though the kids are older, Kerri said the stuffed animals Red Cross volunteers gave them brought comfort.
The Pikes Peak Chapter of the American Red Cross is one of 14 area charities receiving grants from The Gazette-El Pomar Foundation Empty Stocking Fund. In addition to helping local families struck by disasters, the chapter runs Red Cross Services to the Armed Forces for area military families.
Luckily, Kerri and her children have family in the area they are staying with — instead of being stuck in a hotel.
She is trying to recover from the crash, which left her with head injuries and memory problems. Kerri has been unable to resume her work for a day care center as a teacher’s assistant and bus driver. And she separated from her husband before the fire and the crash.
“It’s a slow process, but we’re getting there,” she said. “The kids know it will be a small Christmas. But it’s all good. I have them and they have me.”
DETAILS
To make a secure online donation, go to www.fillanemptystocking.org. Call 476-1673 to make a credit card or stock donation over the phone. Checks can be made payable to the Empty Stocking Fund and mailed to P.O. Box 400, Colorado Springs, CO 80901.
