Community rallies for late child's family
While friends and loved ones have no doubt surrounded and held up the Oesterling family since the New Year's Eve fire that claimed the life of their son and brother, total strangers — including a class of 8-year-olds — have stepped up to help get the family's life back on track.
Deidra Anthony and Donovan Oesterling's rental house on Knox Avenue in Butler was destroyed by a fire two months ago.
While Donovan Oesterling was able to get the couple's daughter, Jazmine, 4, and son, Jax, 1, out of the burning two-story home, the distraught, soot-covered father was unable to re-enter the home to retrieve son Tristan, 2.
On Tuesday, Anthony went to a large building in Lyndora to view the hundreds of items donated by Butler County residents that will completely furnish and outfit the family's new rental in Gibsonia.“I'm super appreciative for everyone who's helped us,” Anthony said. “Even now, two months later, we still are having people help us once in a while.”Cindy Parker, who coordinated the collection of the items, said a new, wide-screen smart TV, a complete bedroom set for Jazmine, a bedroom set for Anthony and Oesterling, a toddler bed for Jax, towels, sheets, clothing, living room furniture, lamps, end tables, kitchen items and more greeted Anthony when she entered the building.A woman recently called Parker to inform her that she made several handmade quilts for the family.“They're absolutely gorgeous,” Parker said.She still marvels at the generosity and sympathy shown by people in the county who have never met the family, but wanted to help by donating items.“Butler's a great place with great people, and they have a big heart,” Parker said. “They step up and are willing to help anybody who needs it.”Anthony said the family planned to move to their new apartment Wednesday, and will continue healing after the loss of Tristan.“Jax is back to his normal self and Jazmine is doing great,” she said. “She's still herself.”Anthony was at work at the time of the fast-moving fire, which left the family with only the clothes on their backs.Jax was burned in the fire and hospitalized in Pittsburgh for skin grafts, but is back home and doing well, Anthony said.State Police Fire Marshal Luke Nelson said the cause of the fire is undetermined because of the heavy damage to the structure.Nelson said his investigation determined that the fire started in the first-floor living room area.
Anthony also was amazed to hear that the third-grade classroom of teacher Adam Mercer, at Northwest Elementary in Butler Township, has raised more than $2,000 for the family.Matt Martinez, the school's principal, was touched that the students in Mercer's class came up with the idea for the fundraiser.Martinez explained that a student in the class and his father built a wooden box, which the student brought in for a show-and-tell event.While talking about the box, the students suggested they should collect money to put inside.“And then give the money to someone who needs something,” Martinez said.One of Mercer's students also has the last name Oesterling, but is not related to the family.But that was enough to spur the students to create a fundraiser for the Donovan Oesterling family.“That's where they decided to go with this,” a proud Martinez said. “I'm flabbergasted, blown away. They did this all on their own.”Mercer helped his class make a video asking students to bring in spare change to put into the box. The video was shown in all 24 homerooms in the school, which educates students in kindergarten through fourth grade.Martinez sent a letter home to the parents of every student in the school asking them to send in however much change or bills they could in a sandwich bag, which would be placed in the locked box in the school's office.He said the Knox Avenue house occupied by the Oesterlings was in the school's attendance area, but the Oesterling children were not yet school-aged.“It's our community, and it was a tragedy,” Martinez said. “The kids who go to school here have seen that house in their neighborhood.”He said the students have been learning about thinking of others instead of themselves, as February is kindness month at the school.“The students have had lessons all month on being kind to others,” Martinez said. “They learned that when you spread kindness, it not only makes the person receiving the kindness feel good, but the person giving the kindness feels good too.”He said his role in the lucrative fundraiser was sending a sheet of paper home to parents.“The kids did everything else,” Martinez said.Anthony said the school fundraiser is appreciated by her family.“I think it's super sweet, especially coming from children,” she said.Martinez said he counted $1,972 in bills and had several large bags of coins to take to the coin-counting machine.He said the money would be given to the Oesterlings on Friday.
