SOMETHING GOOD: GoFundMe Raises Over $250k In 1 Day For Detroit Family Who Lost Home, Dog and Truck In a Fire

Brittany M. Hughes | June 5, 2020
DONATE
Font Size


If a bright spot can be found in the mess we're all collectively stewing in, a GoFundMe set up for the the family of Roderick Reynolds, a Detroit father of five who lost his home, his truck and his dog in an early morning house fire this week, has raised over $250,000 as of early Friday morning, surpassing its $100,000 goal in under 24 hours.

Reynolds stood before the rubble that was once his house as he described losing everything he’d tried to build for his family.

"This for them, I don't care about nothing. I just want my kids to be straight. That's it," he told Detroit’s Fox2. "I've got to get food on the table. I've got kids and I'm a man so I've got to make sure I take care of them."

The 32-year-old said he’d already been struggling to get work as his independent contracting business had ben hit hard by the coronavirus shutdown. He’s spent the past three months working on the home he’d recently purchased in Detroit’s east side, dumping about $50,000 into renovations. 

Reynolds said he got the call around 4 a.m. on Thursday that the structure was on fire.  His dog was inside the home at the time. 

“I put every dollar I got into the house. There’s a lot of stuff that I want, but I prioritize for my family. Ever dollar that I’ve got, I put into my house. And I take care of my kids,” he said.

Reynolds said he was only a couple of weeks from finishing it up so his family could finally move in, and his kids were excited.

“We were going to do a big reveal after," he said. They're going to want to know what happened to the house because they were excited."

"I did everything right. So I don't know what I'm supposed to do," he said.

“This is devastating for me, but…I’m a big boy,” he continued, looking around at a loss. “So I’m gonna just keep on pushing.”

Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire.

But while the loss might be a massive setback for the Reynolds family, it looks like they'll be able to rebuild thanks to the generosity of more than 10,000 donors. Which, frankly, is exactly the kind of news the world needs.

donate