Helping hands: Donations exceed $875,000 for those affected by Plum house explosion

Rafal Kolankowski and his family have felt the full embrace of the Plum community since August — some of it in the form of bracelets, lemonade and yard signs.

The Kolankowskis are among about a dozen families whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged when a nearby house exploded in the Rustic Ridge subdivision. The blast killed six of Kolankow­ski’s neighbors and displaced numerous families as a result of collateral damage to surrounding homes.

When insurance didn’t cover all of his family’s costs, Kolankowski said, he benefited from the numerous fundraisers organized by those within the Plum community and beyond.

In all, at least $875,000 has been raised since the Aug. 12 explosion. That includes donations to verified GoFundMe accounts and to Holy Family Parish, fundraisers ranging from bracelet sales to lemonade stands, and efforts involving the Plum School District and borough nonprofit Angels in Da Skys.

And that’s just what has been quantified.

That doesn’t include private donations and gift cards made to individual families or causes, or the mountains of goods such as bottled water and food dropped off at donation points in the immediate aftermath of the explosion.

“Until you’re in that situation, I would have never thought how much help people needed,” said Kolankowski, whose family returned to their home in March after repairs. “Our lives and our neighbors’ lives were kind of put on hold for a while.

The parish provided a report on its website detailing donations it received and its partnership with the Salvation Army in distributing them.

Those are details rarely included in publicly available financial reporting by charities, but the public should demand them in the interests of accountability and transparency, said Laurie Styron, executive director of CharityWatch. The group is a nonprofit based in Chicago that provides information about charities’ financial efficiency, accountability, governance and fundraising.

“The public is owed this kind of information, even if it is not strictly required by reporting rules,” Styron said.

“The government is not allowed to demand financial reporting from churches the way it can from all other public charities,” she said.

Groups large and small assist

In its report, Holy Family said S&T Bank and the Rustic Ridge Homeowners Association asked the parish to take donations from other fundraising efforts, organizations and individuals for Rustic Ridge.

The Salvation Army interviewed families to determine how the donations could be distributed as equitably as possible, spokeswoman Nicole Harrell said.

“It became apparent that each family suffered uniquely, and the needs of each are vastly different,” she said. “As a result, the funds were equally divided, and checks were issued and sent to these families.”

The Salvation Army would not identify the recipients, citing confidentiality.

Holy Family reported receiving about $171,400 in donations from organizations and corporations and nearly $65,000 in personal donations as of November, when it stopped accepting donations. Personal donors were not identified, but organizations and corporations were.

Holiday Park Church of Christ gave just over $20,000, the largest donation reported by Holy Family. Some of that money came from a yard sale the church held to sell leftover goods that were donated for Rustic Ridge families but not needed, church member Andi Fields said.

The rest came from the church and its 120 members.

“Anytime we needed something, people jumped at the opportunity to help,” she said. “Most of the time, nobody knew the people they were helping. They saw the need and helped fill it.”

Holy Family listed just over 100 contributions from organizations and businesses. Some examples:

• Employees at #1 Cochran gave about $15,000 through employee donations.

• Wendell August Forge raised almost $8,000 through sales of a “Plum Proud” Christmas ornament.

• Senge Graphics in Verona raised about $3,500 from selling car window stickers.

• Schultheis Bros., a heating, cooling and roofing business in Plum, was preparing to announce the winner of its contest for a free roof but instead donated the $1,800 that would have paid for the labor.

• Grasinger Homes, which developed Rustic Ridge and built many of the houses, gave $3,000.

Online fundraising

GoFundMe reported nine verified fundraisers related to Rustic Ridge. One of the nine was a general collection for Rustic Ridge families. Three benefited the Clontz, Oravitz and Sebunia families. Five were for families whose homes were damaged or destroyed — Lori Ebaugh, Raf and Jennifer Kolankowski, Sandy Koontz, Harrison and Kelly Smith, and Andy and Stacie Zarroli.

GoFundMe spokeswoman Erin O’Malley did not say whether any fraudulent campaigns were identified.

GoFundMe charges a 2.9% transaction fee plus 30 cents per donation, which O’Malley said helps the company pay its payment processors.

Dani DiVittorio, who lives in the Brooklyn section of New York City, started the GoFundMe for Jennifer Clontz, her cousin who lost her husband and son. Of the nine GoFundMe campaigns, hers has been the most successful, receiving 1,600 donations totaling just over $130,000.

As a nonprofit professional, DiVittorio said she has done fundraising, including GoFundMe campaigns, for the past 15 years.

“None have come even close to the response of the local community. This GoFundMe was special,” she said. “The local community responded like I’ve never seen before. The love and support was just overwhelming.”

Just hoping for any response, DiVittorio said she started with a $10,000 goal.

“We knew that the need would be far greater, but we didn’t want to overwhelm the local community,” she said. “Thankfully, they surprised us.

“Truly, all of the individuals and companies that came together, all the credit goes to them. It’s also a testament to who Casey and Keegan were.”

All of the money donated has gone to Clontz and her daughter, Addie, now 11. They plan to return to their home, which was damaged by the explosion, but don’t know when, DiVittorio said.

“As much of a response as Jen’s GoFundMe has gotten, her biggest concern was to make sure the other GoFundMes were shared and that all of the families affected, especially those who lost loved ones, are supported,” DiVittorio said. “All of those families are still coping. They still have major needs.”

The homeowners association has a committee working on a way to express the neighborhood’s appreciation for the support received, association President Greg Renko said.

Clontz has been trying to send thank-you cards to as many people as possible, DiVittorio said.

“Our family and everyone who loved Casey and Keegan are eternally grateful for the outpouring of love and support,” DiVittorio said. “We’ll never be able to thank everyone enough.”