Schuyler fire destroys tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of Christmas donations

SCHUYLER, Neb. (KLKN) – Extension damage left behind by a massive fire Wednesday night isn’t the only the destruction left behind at the Svoboda Moravec Johnson Funeral home.

It also destroyed tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of donated items to be given to families in need for the holidays that were stored inside the building that’s been around for more than 120 years.

With Christmas just months away, the non-profit Colfax County Food and Toy Program, now has to start over from scratch.

Peg Aldrich is a board member for the program and told Channel 8 on Friday that she first heard about the fire in the middle of the night.

“My stomach dropped,” said Aldrich.

“And at first I thought, oh maybe all of it didn’t get ruined but then when I looked at Facebook and saw pictures, I knew it was all gone. And I was literally, I’m still sick about it,” she said.

As Aldrich walked around the rumble piled up around the building, she reminisced about the burnt items laid out.

“I remember putting that game away. I remember those baskets. We had coloring books in them,” she said pointing to various children’s toys covered in ash.

She says the building’s attic stored clothing and the garage is where the food was.

The group reports having lost about 250 pounds of spaghetti, 20 cases of sauce and 100 jars of peanut butter, along with many more pounds of other shelf stable food items also.

Last year, they helped nearly 200 children during the holidays.

“It is directed towards families that are in need of Christmas,” said Aldrich.

“Families are chosen by teachers, law enforcement, maybe judges, we don’t know who they are,” she said, explaining that once a list of families are completed, volunteers will do shopping for those items.

Afterwards, hundreds of locals will help wrap the items in festive wrapping paper.

Since the fire, Aldrich says that the community is stepping up in a different way.

“People are calling and offering storage. People are offering donations,” she said.

The Schuyler Fire Department is also hosting a pancake feed to help too.

“This is not going to be taken care of by insurance. So, we do need donations, monetary especially because then we can buy what kids are asking for,” said Aldrich.

If you would like to help contribute to the Colfax County Food and Toy Program, you can do so by visiting their Facebook, where they have posted a list of items needed and the non-profit’s Venmo account.