In the early hours of the morning on May 28, a fire broke out at the Kidd family’s New Hope home on Deer Trail.
By the time volunteer firefighters put the flames out, Willie Baldwin, 15, and Taeveion Kidd, 10, had lost their lives. Both children lived in the home, Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant told The Dispatch the following day.
Rhonda Sanders, a lieutenant with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and the president of the Community Benefit Committee, had never met the Kidd family before the fire. But as a mother of teenage boys herself, she knew she wanted to do something to help.
“It could have easily been my house that caught on fire,” Sanders said. “It could have been anybody else’s house.”
Sanders reached out to the family, hoping to help in any way she could. But with four other members of the family injured, and three hospitalized initially, she said medical bills have been growing, on top of the unexpected funeral costs.
On Friday, Sanders started a GoFundMe through the Community Benefit Committee with a goal of raising $20,000 toward the family’s funeral expenses and medical costs.
“Any donation, no matter how big or small, will make a difference in helping Timothy, Regina, Todd and JJ navigate through this challenging time,” the GoFundMe reads. “Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers, and consider making a donation to support them in their time of need.”
Sanders said the mother, Regina, and one of her sons, J.J., were both still in the hospital on Wednesday morning, but they were recovering and had been taken off of ventilators.
Once they are able to leave the hospital, Sanders said, they will also need support, as the family lost almost everything in the fire. All they left with, she said, were the clothes on their backs. Any money raised by the GoFundMe beyond the funeral and medical expenses will go toward any other needs that may arise as a result of the fire.
“We just wanted to reach out and help this family in Lowndes County as much as we could,” Sanders said.
By press time Wednesday, the GoFundMe had raised more than $6,800 for the Kidd family, with 95 donations from community members. The fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com/f/help-the-kids-family-during-this-tragic-time.
Sanders said that if donors want to give to the Kidd family more directly, without any of the fees incurred by donating through GoFundMe, checks can be made out to the Community Benefit Committee with “Kidd” in the memo line. Or, if donors want to drop off a gift card at the Sheriff’s Office, donations will also be accepted that way.
“Our motto is ‘we are better together, and no one stands alone,’” Sanders said.
Lowndes County Fire Coordinator Neal Austin said his team ruled the fire accidental, but they called the state fire marshal’s to investigate for a second opinion. On Wednesday, he told The Dispatch he had not yet heard back from the state marshal.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
