Money Raised For La Grange Park Fire Victims

LA GRANGE PARK, IL – A fundraiser has been set up for the La Grange Park family who lost their house in a fire last month.

So far, nearly $29,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe page for Patrick and Abbie Kenny, who lived in the 900 block of Meadowcrest Road.

Abbie's sisters set up the page. They said lightning struck a nearby transformer and set the Kennys' garage on fire, which spread to the attic and the entire home.

Abbie and Patrick were not injured, and their two girls, 4-year-old Caroline and 2-year-old Maeve, were having a sleepover at a relative's house, Abbie's sisters said.

"We're hoping to raise a bit of money to give Abbie and Pat some peace of mind as they start rebuilding from the ground up," the sisters said on the page. "Everything raised will go straight towards living expenses over the next several months – food, new toys for the girls, clothes, shoes, etc."

Neighbor Megann Krysa told Patch that she saw the Kennys' house go up in flames.

"I grew up here in LGP (now live and teach here too!) and remember throughout my childhood the community coming together to help neighbors during tough times (cancer, loss, tragedies...), this was no exception!" she said in an email. "Now as an adult living here in this community, I really felt that I had to do something to wrap the Kenny family with the same LGP love I grew up with."

Over three weeks, she said she worked alongside the owners of Hop District Brewing in La Grange Park to hold a fundraiser a few days ago.

"We received very generous donations: gift cards, personal checks to the family, flowers, brewery merch and even a brand-new Weber flat-top grill. Raffle tickets were sold as well as $1 from every pint went to the family," Krysa said. "We also wanted to make sure that the event was family-friendly, so we also had the fire truck and ambulance from LaGrange Park fire department visit, El Pollo food truck, face painting and an ice cream truck for the kids. The place was packed."

The fundraiser drew in $5,500, Krysa said.