Led by a group of housemates, the Georgetown community came together to assist the five students whose house burnt down in a fire that killed their roommate, Daniel Rigby (MSB ‘05).
The residents of 1315 35th St., Melanie Finn (MSB ‘05), Marissa Corda (MSB ‘05), Katie Rodgers (CAS ‘05), Heather Koch (SFS ‘05), Laura Neuhaus (MSB ‘05) and Whitney Corbett (CAS ‘05), witnessed the fire that stunned the University community Oct. 17.
“We pretty much lost everything from our old place,” Toby Pratt (CAS ‘05), who lived in the damaged house, said.
The six women emailed friends Oct. 19, two days after the fire, asking that the message be forwarded around campus.
“We feel that right now we all need to come together as a community to support the roommates who lost more than a best friend,” the e-mail said. “In trying to support them and to allow them to concentrate solely on the loss of Rigby, we are collecting donations of any amount to give to the guys of [3318 Prospect St.].”
“To see all these people go out of the way to help us, I don’t even have the words to describe it,” Pratt said. “It gets to the point where thank you doesn’t seem to be enough.”
Pratt and his four roommates, Richard Rowe (SFS’05), Vincent Bianco (SFS ‘05), Doyle Flaherty (CAS ‘05), and Michael Buckley (CAS ‘05), have just moved into a new off-campus home.
While the impromptu charity had an original goal of $2,500 in order to give $500 to each roommate, by Monday night the group had gathered over $3,500 from approximately 50 people. Most of the donations came from seniors, but some came from alumni and juniors.
Though the group members had originally intended to give each roommate a prepaid credit card, they have now decided to give the donations to the roommates in the form of cash and gift baskets.
Several organizations on campus and in the area also stepped in to help the students: Hoya Computing, part of University Information Services, has donated five computers for the roommates, The Tombs restaurant provided gift certificates for free meals and the University Bookstore is replacing their lost textbooks.
Some of the generosity has also come from outside individuals.
“People have been coming by and dropping off food,” Pratt said. “Our fridge can’t even fit all this stuff anymore, it’s really amazing.”
“The response has shown how Georgetown can come together so well as a community,” Finn said. “All my roommates and I have been so touched by everyone’s generosity.”
Donations will continue to be accepted through Friday.
