Community responds to family's fire tragedy

Sometimes it takes a tragedy to realize how truly blessed we are.

Last Tuesday I wrote about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, an organization that helps those in need. The society assures confidentiality to those it serves.

Heidi Kauss has been on the receiving end of their kindness and wanted to share how much she appreciated everything they and others did for her family.

The Kauss family recently lost their home in a fire. The family of seven was in Florida getting ready to go on a Carnival family cruise to celebrate Ted and Heidi's 15th anniversary.

"We received a call from our neighbor saying there was a fire," Kauss said. "Then we got another call from another neighbor who said that everything was gone."

The family lost their home and their possessions. They even lost all they had saved to take the much-anticipated family cruise.

When they returned home they found an army of people ready to help them.

"My neighbors, Stephanie Gosselin and Maureen Mrenna were unbelievable. They made lists and started organizing everything.

"Another friend, Julie Goodwin, got involved. Oh, I don't want to leave anyone out but it was just amazing."

Offers to help came from business clubs, women's clubs and mothers clubs. Parishioners at Holy Cross and St. Peters helped out. People brought food and clothing and tried to replace the Christmas presents that had been lost in the fire.

"A Girl Scout troop came with laundry baskets filled with gifts and they had made blankets for each of the kids," Kauss said. "They had taken the time to find what each one was interested in so there was a hockey blanket and a snow boarding blanket and so on."

Kauss was especially touched when she received a bouquet of roses.

"Each flower was tied with a ribbon and had a personal message attached to it," she added. "My son's hockey team dropped off presents for all of the kids."

Then there were the gifts of wisdom that only children can give.

"When it got to be stressful and my husband and I would argue, my son would tell us to not to argue. My daughter would remind us that the only thing we needed was each other," she said. "That really helped us to work together."

With five kids ranging from 13 to 2, the Kauss family was very happy to find a rental home and move into it while their home is being rebuilt.

"We were talking about what we missed that was lost in the fire and my 7-year-old said that he really missed his bed," said Kauss. "I expected him to say a toy or his play station but he just missed something as simple as his bed."

Enter the Society of St. Vincent dePaul. The group arranged for the Kauss family to visit their furniture warehouse and get what they needed.

"Everyone there was so kind and helpful," she said. "All of the furniture was in good condition. It was such a gift."

The fire was a tragedy but it really was a life lesson for Kauss.

"Now I sit back and realize how lucky we were," Kauss said. "We weren't home so no one was lost or injured in the fire. We lost our cat but I keep hoping that he might have gotten out.

"We realize that we are so fortunate to live in the community that we live in. Our neighbors, friends, our churches and schools, even people we didn't know offered us help. I can't describe how it feels except to say that I felt how a baby must feel, comforted and completely surrounded with love."

A fire is a life-changing event in more ways that one.

"I've always tried to be a good person," Kauss said. "But the fire changed me. For example, I always wanted to get involved in Heifer International and now I'm going to do that. I want to do more. I have a lifetime to pay back all that has been done for us."

Neighbors, churches, schools, clubs are all a part of a community. It's good to know that our community is there when it is needed the most.