Friends and family gather donations following house fires

Following a fire that destroyed two Okotoks homes on Tuesday (March 15,) residents have been looking for ways to help out.

People began offering their help on social media before fire crews even had the blaze under control, and social media has continued to play a big role in aiding organized efforts.

Among the people looking to help was Christina Blanchard, who kicked into high gear when she learned that one of the homes belonged to her close friend's parents.

"Her parents are really wonderful people who are like grandparents to my children because we've been friends for so long, so when I found out that it was them, I felt like I needed to do something to help them."

She offered to collect donations from community members and has since gotten in touch with the other affected family to do the same for them.

Blanchard has been accepting donations at her workplace, McAsphalt Industries on the second floor of #106, 21 Elizabeth Street.

Anyone with questions or inquiries can reach out to her at (403) 995-2345.

Quite a few people have inquired and even shown up to donate so far, and at this point, Blanchard says their biggest need is for food.

"We'll get their freezer stocked up so they don't have to worry about shopping and trying to coordinate. They're staying with relatives, so they're in other people's homes, they've been displaced and they're sort of dealing with this traumatic event, so it's always easier if you can just pop something in the oven, or order Skip, or whatever it is. We're asking the community to donate gift cards for restaurants, Skip, Supper Studio, or something like that."

Meal Train pages have been started for both households:

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/1d077w
https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/gorz0l

Clothing donations are also encouraged.

"We're struggling to get clothes for grandpa because he's a pretty big guy so XXXL clothes were hard to come by by donation so we're going to gather some gift cards and do some shopping for him," says Blanchard.

They're also working on finding storage for donated and recovered items.

One of the families is also asking residents to keep an eye out for their two cats who may have escaped the home during the fire.

They've still got a long way to go, but so far, Blanchard says the community has been extremely supportive.

"A lovely lady dropped off a bag of toiletries, and I do want to recognize Pure Envy, who dropped off shampoos and conditioners and an amazing package of self-care products for grandma, and they were so overwhelmed at what they get on that package, so thank you to them."

Tanya Douglas, the owner of Pure Envy as well as Saluté, also dropped off gift certificates for both families.

As for an end date for donations, Blanchard says the families are in an odd phase at the moment while waiting for word from their insurance providers.

One of the things they're looking to address is accommodation for the older couple, who are currently staying with family in the short term.

Anyone with a rental property or Airbnb is asked to reach out.