Charity seeks to rebuild after fire

WASILLA — What would a person do upon finding the charity they’ve been working to build for three years literally going up in smoke, in the wee hours of the morning?

“When I saw it I did collapse to the ground because it was fully engulfed at that point,” said Jennifer Baker, Chief Operations Officer of Hope for Heroes, Inc.

She arrived at the charity’s offices just after 6 a.m. Jan. 20. The offices were in a commercial building off of Wasilla-Fishhook Road in downtown Wasilla that was completely destroyed by fire in one of the largest conflagrations the area has seen in recent memory.

Hope for Heroes works to help military members and veterans who hare having trouble making ends meet. It offers services such as the payment of utility bills, rent payment assistance or the purchase of new tires for a client in need.

“Originally, (when) we started, our mission was to provide Christmas for them,” Baker said. “We now have veterans and military families that come to us for assistance throughout the year.”

Baker said the list of items lost included everything from office furniture to donated clothing to fundraising merchandise to concessions equipment to a polar bear costume — their mascot, Hope the Bear.

Hope for Heroes is partnered with a professional wrestling nonprofit, Headlocks for Heroes, and the wrestlers lost their ring, too.

“Everything was in there,” Baker said.

And none of it was insured.

“With nonprofits, you have to pay one time for the entire year,” Baker said. “We had just saved enough money to get our insurance for the year.”

She and other volunteers had been to the rubble pile and picked through what was left of their operation. They found a flag with just a few small burn marks and a sooty banner with the charity’s name and logo on it. Both are hanging in the new headquarters that they moved into this week.

According to a post on their gofundme.com page, the organization still needs $1,400 for building signage, and would appreciate more “to rebuild and continue our mission.”

The group also needs things like folding tables and storage shelves, walkie-talkies, clothes hangers and a public address system.

Headlocks for Heroes is continuing on as well. The plan is to have a Feb. 21 wrestling event, Ashes to Ashes, coupled with a silent auction to help raise more funds. The event is at 6 p.m. on Feb. 21 (a Saturday), at 1201 N. Lucille St., Suite 101.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.