Group Helps Family Left Homeless by Fire
A group of students and staff from Ventura College has raised $1,000 in cash and gathered $2,500 worth of clothing, food and household goods for a family of 10 whose home was destroyed by fire last month.
The idea to help Pedro and Olga Fernandez and their eight children was raised by Tom Roe, a photography instructor at the college and a friend of the family.
He asked for help by sending e-mail to his peers.
“People have come from all segments of the campus community, and everyone has been happy to give. It’s really raised my morale,” Roe said.
The Fernandez family’s home, located on a remote ranch above Highway 1 near the Los Angeles County line, was gutted by a fire caused by an electrical short on Sept. 19.
Since then, the family has been living in two motel rooms in Oxnard.
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