My father, Dennis Zacek had a fire earlier this year at his apartment in Brookfield, Ma. It was a devastating fire and he lost everything. He has been staying with my husband Andrew and I in our tiny ranch house since then. We have just found an apartment that he can afford and we need your help to fill it!

Dennis is a 71 year old retired navy veteran who was a house painter until a couple years ago. He would still be working if the back surgery hadn't failed to alleviate his debilitating sciatic pain. He is now on a low fixed income and you can imagine it has been very difficult to find an affordable apartment on his budget.

This apartment was his home for over 20 years and he was very comfortable there. He was very sad to see the damage caused by the fire not only for his losses but for the other tents and for the building itself. There was a family below and a young man above that also had to vacate the building. My father loves to see history preserved and this building was over 100 years old. The landlord even said he had hoped to restore it to be on the historic register for the town.

Well my dad managed to get out of the building with nothing more than the pants he was wearing and a jacket with his cell phone. That's it! Everything else was either charred, melted or had smoke and water damage.

He sustained second degree burns on his hands, face and head as well as the bottoms of his feet. No one else in the building was injured and he was lucky enough to escape having surgery.

The American Redcross met him at the hospital where they gave him a bag of essential toiletries and a blanket with a $500 debit card. Bless them! I will always donate to them whenever possible!

While his burns have since healed and he is whole again, he has nothing left to restart with. We are hoping to acquire most furniture second hand donated by friends and family, but he will also need to purchase items and some will have to be new.

A new Mattress suitable for his back, a smart TV and Computer are probably the most expensive items. He'll also need a microwave, air conditioner, air purifier, sheets and bedding, towels, etc. etc.

A whole home full of things is too overwhelming to list. Any help getting to our goal would be sooo appreciative!

Thank you form the bottom of our hearts,

The Lederman's and the Zacek's