On the night of Sept. 12, a fire destroyed the Gaines family’s home on Edgewood Road. The home’s occupants escaped unharmed, but they lost all of their possessions.

The fire was extinguished by firefighters from Beachwood, Lyndhurst, Pepper Pike and University Heights.

Patricia Gaines, the family’s matriarch, is widowed. She has five biological children, has adopted five children with special needs and has taken in two nieces. The family is temporarily staying in Cleveland Heights with a relative, until the Red Cross determines a permanent residence for them.

In the aftermath of the fire, the family requested donations in the form of money, gift cards, food, shirts and pants. Ariane Kirkpatrick, their neighbor, is still accepting donations on behalf of the family. Money can be deposited in the Patricia Gaines Family Fund at all KeyBank locations, and the Beachwood PTO still accepts donations at all Beachwood schools.

Beachwood’s Public Relations Officer, Doug Levin, transferred donations to the Gaines family. He dropped off $400, several hundred dollars of gift cards and enough clothes, food and toiletries to fill his SUV. An additional $400-500 was donated into the Patricia Gaines KeyBank Family Fund.

 “I can’t do justice to the surprise and gratitude on the mother’s face and in her words this evening when I dropped off [the donations]… Although this type of response can be expected in Beachwood, the BHS family can be proud of how it takes responsibility for one of its own in their time of need,” Levin wrote in a press release.