Lind rallies around family: Tragedy unites community in outreach effort

When tragedy struck the Lind community last week, residents and members from the surrounding communities united to give back to a family who suffered a great loss.

On the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 20, a house fire broke out and claimed the life of three-year-old Amy Allison Garcia and displaced her family.

By the time the news broke Thursday morning, Lind School District administrators and teachers had already began an outreach effort to help the family rebuild.

Preschool teacher Lori Olson immediately put up a social media post asking community members for donations of clothing and household items.

The response was immediate and outstanding. Donations began piling into the Lind-Ritzville Middle School and within 24 hours, school administrators began requesting individuals to consider making monetary donations.

A donation fund was established at Columbia Bank in Ritzville in memory of Garcia, while Jim’s Empire Market in Lind began an account for the family to use for grocery shopping. Both accounts remain active and open for donations.

School faculty members began sorting the donations to distribute to the family who had seven other children living in the house at the time of the fire. On Friday morning, community members brought even more donations to the Lind Community Church to assist with the sorting of the donation items.

Friday afternoon, a group of high school students involved in the We Lind Ritzville club distributed donation jars to nearly 30 local businesses to collect money for the family.

The club’s advisor Guy Strot announced on Feb. 25 that the group had already received over $1,000 in donations. The club is continuing to collect donations until March 1.

The staff at Sunny Spot Floral and Gifts hosted a “Coffee for a Cause” fundraiser on Monday, Feb. 25, and donated $1 from every coffee purchase to the Lind family. The money collected at the fundraiser was immediately put into the memorial fund for Garcia.

Fundraising efforts continue within the Lind and Ritzville communities to help alleviate the financial burden on the family.

Community members are currently helping the family make funeral arrangements and find a new rental property in the area.

At the end of March, a dinner and auction fundraiser has been scheduled in an effort to continue supporting the family with affording basic living costs. The auction and dinner is scheduled for March 23 at the Lind Grange Hall.

The night begins with a happy hour at 5 p.m. and is followed by a dinner prepared by Cathy Jo’s Catering. The live auction begins at 7 p.m. and when the auction concludes, the Garrett Bartley Band will perform.

Tickets for the dinner and auction go on sale on March 1 and cost $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $5 for children age 12 and under.

Tickets are available at Sunny Spot, Columbia Bank, Sterling Bank, Jim’s Empire Market, Lind Town Hall, Ritzville Drug Company, and at the schools in both Lind and Ritzville.

Individuals interested in donating auction items are asked to contact Melanie Ziebell at 347-6074 or Marie Borth at 347-6546.

For updated information about the event, a Facebook event page titled “All For Amy” has been created.

Any individual interested in making a donation to the memorial fund at Columbia Bank can make checks to the “Amy Allison Garcia Memorial Fund.” Columbia Bank can be reached at 659-0223 and is located at 201 West Main Avenue in Ritzville.

For donations to the account at Jim’s Market, contact the store at 677-3581. Jim’s Market is located at 113 West 2nd Street in Lind.