MomCrunch
The Momosphere Rallies Around The Bielanko Family After Fire
Bielanko Family from Flickr
Blogger Monica Bielanko’s (author of the wonderful blog The Girl Who) twitter stream yesterday was heart-wrenching. At 1:22pm she said, “MY HOUSE IN FIRE. EVERYTHING WE OWN.” A few minutes later, she tweeted the even more devastating, “FIREFIGHTERS SPRAYING FROM OUTSIDE. CAN’T GO IN. OH DEAIR JESUS GOD OH MY GOD EVERYTHING”
This story is particularly heart-wrenching because Monica Bielanko and her husband Serge have been lovingly restoring the farmhouse home that they rent, calling it their “house in the country” and often sharing about their adventures.
While everyone got out safely (including the dogs!), Monica did have to rescue her two-year-old daughter Violet from her bedroom, which was apparently the source of the fire (aside: I cannot. even. imagine.). They are now waiting to inspect the damage, which included most of the second floor including Monica’s office and the treasure trove of family memories in the attic.
The loss is particularly horrible because as renters, they did not have property insurance (if you rent, run to get some renter’s insurance RIGHT NOW), and as a typical family today, they live pretty close to the bone. They are stranded without much in the way of resources to rebuild, and find a new place to live (with hopes to return to the farm house once it’s safe and repaired).
But, as the blogosphere is wont to do, a fundraiser has been arranged by Babble’s own Katie Granju (who apparently had to BEG the Bielanko’s to allow it). Katie is hoping to raise $10,000 to help the family get back on their feet and find a new place for the family of four to live.
As of right now, over $6,000 has already been raised, and it’s only the first day.
If you’d like to support this family, you can find out more about the fundraiser here. Please help if you can.
It’s wonderful when the internet shows its love.
We at MomCrunch wish the Bielanko family great luck and good cheer, and we’re all holding our loved ones a bit closer.
Go Back To MomCrunch
4 Comments
Stacey @ Tree, Root, and Twig commented on Jan 05 12 at 5:56 pmI read this story earlier today and had flashbacks to a horrible experience of my own back in 2000. In the process of moving from California to Oregon, the moving truck crashed and we lost everything we owned. It was devastating. Like others have said with this family, at least all are safe (2 of our girls were in the moving truck, we are blessed they were unharmed), but yes, losing everything is a shock to the system. I will absolutely be doing what I can to help this family and am grateful someone has set up a way for us to do so. And I cannot second this enough: GET RENTER’S INSURANCE. Even though our belongings were en route to our new home, our renter’s insurance covered everything in the crash. It didn’t make everything better right away, but is SURE helped in the long run!
5MinutesForMom commented on Jan 05 12 at 9:07 pmSo incredibly sad but how wonderful that Katie and the blogosphere is reaching out and supporting a member of our community!
Radha Cole commented on Jan 06 12 at 12:38 pmSorry, but two kids and no renters’ insurance, no emergency savings? They are spending money “renovating” a house they don’t even own in front of having 6-12 months’ of savings in the bank? When you have two kids?
Radha Cole commented on Jan 06 12 at 2:59 pmAnd no renters’ insurance, but smartphones to tweet about a fire and possessions minutes after rescuing your daughter?
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Paula Bernstein 
Cecily Kellogg 
Ria Sharon 
Janice Croze and Susan Carraretto 
Alli Worthington 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
4