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'This is a time they've come together to help out': Dublin community rallies around family after fire

Strangers came together to help out a family whose house burned in a fire.

DUBLIN, Ga. — The East Dublin Fire Department says a fire that started destroyed a home at 113 Virginia Avenue Wednesday.

 Everybody is OK.

 A little compassion and a social media post will help the family rebound.

Principal Kelly Dean of East Laurens Elementary school isn't complaining about the phone calls streaming in on her device.

She is trying to bring a light to a bad situation, but she couldn't do it herself.

"Well, these are Christmas presents they brought for the kids. There is a fourth-grader and a ninth-grader," she said as she dug through bags in her garage. "And then yesterday, there was an envelope in my mailbox that said, 'East Laurens family,' full of cash." 

Dean put out a Facebook post Wednesday night just after the fire.

It got lots of likes and, as of Friday, a 151 shares. Very quickly, everything started stacking up in her garage.

Christy Self stopped by with four bags to donate.

"I saw it, and the girl that posted it, I know her, and I was just thinking, 'I've got so many clothes and bags of clothes sitting around -- it's the perfect size, so why not?'" she said with a smile.

The fire happened on Wednesday, and right now, it still smells like smoke in the area. Kelly says the family is staying in a hotel, but a couple of people have come forward with a place that they can rent.

"With the household items that are still waiting to be donated to them that are sitting in people's homes and all of these items for the kids, I think it will definitely get them through the hardest parts," Kelly said.

Strangers connecting through social media, Kelly says it's a dose of Christmas magic.

"We said so many times in our community, it's fractured, and this is a time they've come together to help out a family," she added.

Kelly and a couple of friends plan to deliver the stuff to the family on Saturday.

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