Goodness and Light

Some of us may be taking the phrase “I’ll be home for Christmas” for granted. What if your home was suddenly taken away from you, mere days before the holiday?

I was devastated to learn that a house in my old neighborhood in the West end of North Adams was destroyed in a fire yesterday, as reported in the North Adams Transcript. Here I am, mumbling “Bah humbug” to myself while scrambling to get those last-minute presents (and trying my best to Buy in the Berkshires, of course), while someone else is watching all of their possessions—Christmas tree and all—go up in flames.

Tragedies like this happen to people all over the world all of the time, but the impact always seems hardest when it hits close to home, especially during the holidays. I do not know these people, but I know my neighborhood well, and I desperately wanted to help in any way possible.

So I was delighted to find that the community was already way ahead of me. Less than twenty-four hours after the fire, a Facebook page called Help Victims of State Road Fire was set up and has over two hundred supporters and counting. The page is a wellspring of hope and charity; conversation focuses on sharing ideas of how to help the two couples in need, including a clothing collection, benefit dinners, and business donations. It didn’t take long for an online donation campaign to be posted as well, which has collected almost $800 at the time of this post.

During a time that finds many of us scraping together holiday funds and wondering how we’re going to get it all done, heartwarming stories like this one are encouraging. It is a story about community—about our community, about unselfish giving and camaraderie to those in need, and about the true spirit of the holiday season.

Happy Holidays