CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Chesterfield woman helped a neighbor and family that were left displaced after a fire burned through their home days before Christmas.
On Friday, Dec. 22, at 3:19 p.m., Brittney Howlett, owner of Teeny B’s Catering Company in Richmond, posted on her personal Facebook page that with the community’s help, more than $1,800 was raised to help her neighbor Tonya Shelton — who’s house was destroyed by a heavy fire on Dec. 21.
On Thursday, Dec. 21 at around 3:45 a.m., Chesterfield Fire and EMS officials arrived to a neighborhood located in South Boones Trail Road where they found heavy fire coming from the second floor of Shelton’s home.
According to officials, the fire had started in an attached shed before it tore through the second floor of the home and into the attic.
Shelton and her family were able to safely escape from the home, but the fire had left them displaced. In Howlett’s Facebook post, she described the house as a ‘total loss.’
Howlett said she had made the initial post to raise money for the family after seeing Shelton in the driveway just hours after the fire burned through her home.
“[Shelton] was sitting in [her] car [and] she came over and she had tears in her eyes,” Howlett said. “I told her, I said I was so worried about you all.”
On Dec. 21 at 4:18 p.m., Howlett posted on her personal Facebook page, asking for the community’s help to donate small sums of five or ten dollars — which would be given to Shelton’s family in gift cards, as well as pay for a Christmas dinner if any money was left over.
Howlett said she had received funds for Shelton’s family within minutes after posting the call for action on her Facebook page.
Howlett also posted on her company’s Facebook page, which she said made donations increase even more — with a little more than $1,800 raised by next morning, Dec. 22.
The money raised was used to pay for three $500 gift cards and one $300 Foodlion gift card for Shelton’s family. The remaining balance went to the card activation fees, according to Howlett.
“You never know what people’s going through. It can be any one of us at any given time,” Howlett said. “Be kind and give if you can, give…even if it’s just $5, anything helps.”
8News had the chance to speak with Shelton over the phone where she expressed her gratitude to Howlett and the community. She said she was able to use the funds to purchase essentials for her family.
Shelton also said repairs to her home have also started.
