BETHALTO – After the Crews family lost their home to a fire on Dec. 18, 2018, several members of their extended communities have rallied to help remedy their loss.
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Their home, at 4860 Rocky Branch Road in Bethalto, was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters from the Dorsey Fire Protection District arrived at the scene around 3 p.m. that day. Despite mutual aid from Bethalto, Holiday Shores, Prairietown, Bunker Hill and Fosterburg, the home was unable to be saved. One entire side was reduced to ashes, and the house is a total loss.
Following the blaze, a GoFundMe was created for the family. In the last week, it exceeded its $15,000 goal by nearly $3,500. As of quarter till three Wednesday afternoon, the campaign, which is listed as “trending” on the site, raised $18,490 from 220 donors.
To add to that growing sum, Roma's Pizza in Bethalto is donating a percentage of their profits to the family Wednesday.
Roma's co-owner Frank Pizzo said the beloved local pizzeria has been campaigning for local benefits for 16 years. He said the restaurant donates a portion of their profits every Tuesday and Wednesday evening, adding they were booked solid with causes for the next few months.
“We like to do something to give back when the community when we can,” Pizzo said. “We do it on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because we can't do it on Friday or the weekend. There would be too big of a crowd. All of our other days are about the same level of busy, but the weekends would be too much.”
Pizzo added the percentage donated to the cause ranges from 10-25 percent. He said campaigns have raised anywhere between $300-$15,000 during nights such as these. Pizzo would not reveal which campaign was given the most hefty sums, but said the location has assisted a variety of causes from sick kids to schools to churches to animals, and many things in between.
The Roma's campaign for the Crews family will go until 10 p.m. Wednesday night, when the joint closes. Roma's Pizza can be reached at (618) 377-5800. It is located at 121 E. Bethalto Dr. in Bethalto.
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