The owner of a Nova Scotia Dojang is overwhelmed by the generosity of Maritimers after collecting donations for the family who lost everything in the horrific Lower Sackville house fire.
Three children, five-year-old Cayson, six-year-old Chloe, and nine-year-old Alauna, died after the Duplex was destroyed early Saturday morning on Riverside Drive.
Jermaine, a 40-year-old man was in critical condition and remains in hospital while 37-year-old Tanya, along with her two-year-old daughter, escaped uninjured.
Rob LeBlanc from LeBlanc Taekwon-Do, tells our newsroom the family was part of his club, so as soon as the tragedy happened, they wanted to do something.
“Me and my wife talked about … we have to do something. We have to do what we can. So, my first thought was, at least I can just take the donations and keep them at my Dojang because I have the space.”
LeBlanc says he then made a Facebook post about collecting donations for friends and club members- and it exploded.
“My inbox is completely jam packed with strangers offering things. We’ve been offered up to ten beds at least. I’m at the point now where I’m actually turning people away because we are in the ‘too much’ zone.”
LeBlanc says, they received two tv’s, diapers, bathroom accessories, houseware items and more. He has even had instructors offer their next few paychecks to Tanya.
“We’re not sure what the financial situation is there, so everyone just wants to chip in.”
Smiles and jokes
LeBlanc has been the owner of his business for 16 years with three different locations.
Tanya works at his Lower Sackville club in their after-school program where Chloe and Cayson went, who were also part of their Lil Ninja classes.
LeBlanc tells us this is really tough, as he got to know the children on a personal level.
“Chloe had the biggest smile in the room. Immediately, that’s what I thought of when I heard the news. Her face popped into my head with a big smile…and she always called me out on my cheesy jokes.”
While Cayson, he says, was a little more reserved.
“I think he was the smallest one. I think was a little less ninja and very quiet, but very, very talented.”
Not seeing the two kids come off the school bus this week, LeBlanc says, was especially hard and they have a plan to honor their memory.
“Their little uniforms are still hanging in the change room. We’re going to get them framed and put them in one of those… I think they’re called shadowboxes. And I’m going to get their names embroidered and we’re going to give those to Tanya.”
Fundraiser
A GoFundMe, now for both families, is still circulating online.
It has already raised close to $100,000 to help with funeral costs and rebuilding their lives.
Biggest hearts
The Facebook post LeBlanc made has been shared nearly 250 times.
He says it just shows how kind Maritimers are.
“I can just confirm that Maritimers… or Nova Scotians…have massive hearts and they care about the community. There are so many people reaching out for these people, [and] they don’t know them. So, for me, it confirms that Maritime personality that the rest of the country knows about. For me, it just confirms everything.”
