Stranger Gifts Mother Who Lost Everything in Wildfire a Free RV
When small business owner Patrick Whitmore learned of the widespread devastation caused by the Camp Fire in Northern California, his heart was compelled to find a way to help.
Whitmore, who owns Beavercreek Saloon in Beavercreek, Oregon, immediately thought of his motorhome, which he felt would be better utilized by someone who needed a place to live.
“I woke up about a week ago thinking I wanted to share my motorhome with somebody in Paradise because it was just resting in my barn and I didn’t have any plan or any use for it,” Whitmore told KGW.
On Thanksgiving Day, Whitmore learned of a single mom named Veronica Jawar who had lost everything in the Camp Fire.
Jawar had temporary shelter, crammed into a 2-bedroom apartment along with several other families, and was desperate for some kind of place that she and her 15-year-old daughter, Cheyanne, could call home.
On Nov. 28, Whitmore and his partner, Barbara Brooke, made the 8-hour drive from Oregon down to Chico, California, to meet Jawar for the first time.
As soon as Jawar laid eyes on the man who was about to change her life, she wept.
Beavercreek Saloon owners, Patrick and Barb, are getting ready to drive a bunch of donations to Northern California to help people affected by the #CampFire – The motor home itself is going to a single mom who lost everything in the massive fire. pic.twitter.com/IVBpdAAGzg
— Christine Pitawanich (@CPitawanichKGW) November 27, 2018
Tears of relief streamed down her face as she embraced Whitmore, who had packed the RV full of supplies for displaced families, including kitchenware and toiletries.
“I’m just blessed, this man’s an angel,” Jawar told KGW.
“This man kept in touch with me and talked to me almost every single day just to reassure me everything was going to be okay,” Jawar said.
Jawar is inspired to pay it forward someday when she and her daughter are back on their feet.
“I’m just so grateful, he’s got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met, I strive to have a heart like him, and I’ll make him proud,” she said.
On the Facebook page, Paradise Fire Adopt a Family, Jawar shared her traumatic experience as a Camp Fire survivor and expressed the renewed hope she has thanks to Whitmore.
“I am in tears right now because I didn’t know what to do,” she wrote. “(For) weeks I’ve been struggling as thousands like me are. I am forever changed and grateful.”
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