COMMUNITY HELPS COHOES FAMILY RECOVER AFTER FIRE

It’s shaping up to be a happier holiday for a family of eight.

The Bailey family, a family of eight – including six kids — lost everything to a house fire back in March on Saratoga Street in Cohoes. Now, they’re getting back on their feet with a new home across the county and help from the Guilderland Food Pantry, which helps dozens of families each year.

A van from Grand Nursing and Rehabilitation in Guilderland helped deliver clothes, food, goods and Christmas presents.

“All they needed was size 6 diapers,” recalled Sue Hennessy, with the Guilderland Food Pantry. “We can do more. So when I found out they didn’t even have a Christmas tree and they needed just about everything, I contacted some local businesses and they came through.”

“It’s part of our core values in our company, which is really to take care of our clients in the community and to give back. So we’re involved in multiple organizations and plan on coming back next year,” noted Shelley Topino with Techworks Consulting.

“We put out an angel tree for donations in our lobby and we’ve talked to the community members and they’ve also come in and donated so much and we just really want to give back to the families,” echoed Josh Held with Grand Rehabilitation.

“When you think about a community, you think of just a small community, but it’s actually the whole 518 that’s really been helping,” pointed out Albree Bailey, a fire victim.

“We’re just so blown away,” echoed Sarah Bailey, another fire victim. “God is good.”

A lot of other Guilderland businesses stepped up not just for this family, but for the food pantry itself. They offered gifts, decorations, food from Hannaford and Crossgates Mall gift cards.