A family in need

A family, whose mother is in my same-age triplets and more group, suffered a devastating tragedy this week. While their two year old triplets napped in their cribs a fire broke out. The fire was discovered by the nanny, 911 responded and the children, thankfully, were rescued from their cribs. All three are still in the hospital, the last I heard they were still intubated and sedated and had suffered severe smoke inhalation. Their prognosis is good, from what I hear. Their father was also injured in the fire. This family has lost everything, absolutely everything. I've copied a post from a fellow triplet mom who belongs to the same local multiples club as this family. There are several ways to help and I encourage everyone who is able to do so.

As Karen said in her email to me earlier, the response from the triplet/multiples community at large has been overwhelming. Showing yet again, what an amazing group of people our multiples community truly is. As Karen said in her post, we're a close knit bunch, no matter the geographical distance that separates us, and it seems that if you don't know the family personally, chances are you aren't too far removed. I am so proud to be a part of this community, it continues to restore and encourage my faith.

Karen's latest post is below:

Hopefully the Final Update on How to Help the Petrucelli Family
I know things keep changing on how to help the Petrucelli Family, but this is hopefully the Final Word. Now we have some permanent mechanisms in place and this should make things far more efficient. Below is the email that we've sent out. Many of you have asked me if you can circulate this information to your own mom's groups or multiples groups. Please do. If you would like the non-redacted version to send out, please leave a comment and I'll send it to you.
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Thank you to everyone for your overwhelming response, concern, and shows of support for the Petrucellis in this time of great need. We have been astounded by the incredible response that we have received from the community in such a short period of time and genuinely appreciate all the offers of help, donations, financial support, and your prayers.

We know that it has been confusing that things have changed several times regarding logistics of donations - unfortunately, we had no way of anticipating how quickly and dramatically the community would respond. We never imagined such a widespread response in such a short period of time. We literally received offers of donations from all over the country in a matter of hours.

Right now, the most important thing for the Petrucellis is that they be able to focus on the recovery of their boys, who are still in the hospital. Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are all with them in this time of great need.

We now have established a system which we believe will remain a permanent system for both financial donations and for offers of physical goods. Please refer to this email for all future donations and see the FAQ's below for any questions.

FINANCIAL DONATIONS:
For financial donations to the Petrucelli Family, the Petrucelli Relief Fund has been established, and donations may be made online via the following website: http://petrucellirelieffund.com

DONATIONS OF GOODS:
All offers of donations of goods should be emailed to Doug Davenport at ddavenport@dcigroup.com and he will keep a running inventory of what has been offered. When the family is ready, they will be able to determine what they most need and can use from this inventory.

FAQ's

What if I have already donated money through the Petrucelli Family Fund established by the Montgomery County Parents of Multiples?
No problem. Your donation is very much appreciated and will still be given directly to the family to assist with their needs. The Petrucelli Family Fund will still be used for funds for the Petrucelli family. However, the primary source of relief funding from this point forward should be the Petrucelli Relief Fund, which can be accessed via http://petrucellirelieffund.com

What if I have already dropped off goods at Christie Leu's house? Similarly, what if I have already mailed donations to Karen Cohen's house?
This is not a problem. Your donations are definitely appreciated and will be accounted for. We will track these donations and ensure that Doug Davidson has a list of these items for his inventory. We will continue to store these items until we determine whether the Petrucelli's need these items. If your items are not needed at that time, your items will either be returned to you if you wish, or, if you prefer, donated to another worthy organization.

How do I know what the Petrucelli's need? How will I know what to offer Doug Davenport?
For now, assume that the Petrucelli's will need most of their basic household items replaced in the long term, especially things for the children. Once the family has had some time to regroup and the boys have had some time to recover, the family will be able to determine what their specific needs are and perhaps post a "wish list" of specific items they are looking for.

What size clothes do the boys wear?
Two of the boys wear size 4T clothes, and one boy wears 3T clothes. They are quite tall for their age.

What if I already mailed a gift card to Michelle Wizov or Karen Cohen?
This is not a problem. Michelle and Karen are tracking all of the gift cards and will make sure that they are delivered to Ami Susan and Michael as soon as possible. Your generous gifts are definitely appreciated.

I would still like to send a gift card. Who should I send it to?
You can send gift cards to either Michelle Wizov or Karen Cohen. Our contact information is below:

Please clearly mark your envelope "Petrucelli Relief" to ensure that it is properly accounted for, and please also ensure that your name and address are included with the gift card, so that the Petrucellis have the opportunity to thank you when they are able.


What if I have more questions about how I can help? Who can I contact?
If you have additional questions about any of the details in this email, or about how you can help, you can contact Michelle Wizov (michelle.wizov@gmail.com) or Karen Cohen (karen_cohen@comcast.net). We will do our best to respond with as much information as we have available at the time.