Meadow Pointe community pitches in to help fire recovery

Donna Kriston Farley hadn’t lived in Wesley Chapel long enough to expect her Heatherstone at Meadow Pointe neighbors, many she didn’t even know yet, to rally to her aid when her house caught fire on New Year’s Day.

But, that’s exactly what happened.

Thanks to neighbors like Jessica Beagle and Alyssa Hall, who sprung into action almost immediately, Farley, the mother of a 17-year-old son and 8-year-old triplets, watched as a section of the community clubhouse soon filled up with tables piled high with children’s clothes, toys, scooters, bikes, toiletries and “a ton of gift cards,’’ Beagle said.

Farley’s neighbors also set up a page at Facebook.com/HelpTheFarley Family to coordinate donations and a GoFundMe.com page at GoFundMe.com/6jhgwc7k.

Farley was inside the home on New Year’s Day when she smelled smoke and realized something was on fire. The blaze started in the garage, which served as a playroom for the kids, and soon engulfed the front of the house.

Beagle, who teaches 6th grade at John Long Middle School, was down the street playing outside with her daughter, who thought she saw fire. Beagle told her daughter since there were no fire trucks, they we’re okay.

“But, that’s when we heard the fire trucks,’’ Beagle says.

Neighbors tried to control the fire with extinguishers, and Beagle said she said a prayer for Farley and the family.

Soon after, she was asking what she could do to help.

“Everything just escalated from there,’’ Beagle said.

By Saturday, the help poured in.

Farley, who moved to Wesley Chapel from California three months ago, was in tears as she explained to Beagle how overwhelmed she was.

“These people don’t even know me,’’  Farley said. “I’ve never even met any of my neighbors. I feel so bad now. I was questioning whether Wesley Chapel was the area for me. But no more.”

That’s the way every community should be, Beagle thinks. It didn’t matter how many friends Farley had made, Beagle said she knew she had to do something and it wasn’t long before dozens of others in Heatherstone had banded together with her. She reached out to Hall, who was able to reach even more people to help.

“The most amazing thing is, there were kids who were bringing their Christmas presents, that they had just gotten, to the clubhouse to donate,’’ Beagle says.

The house is being rebuilt, and Farley says she plans to move back in to the neighborhood.