Online Community Steps Up To Help Members Made Homeless By Queen Village Fire
By Ian Bush
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Red Cross and the Salvation Army step in to help amid disasters -- like the fatal Queen Village fire over the weekend (see related story). For some of those who lost their homes, there's more support coming from an online bulletin board.
Four people who are members of the social news site Reddit lived above the fabric store that burned. They've had to find somewhere else to stay as they work to get their lives back on track.
"I felt it was important that we had an organized response beyond just 'let's bombard them with this immediate help.'"
Simon Joseph is the moderator of the Philadelphia subreddit -- the local section of the site that now has a donations page.
"Two of the affected members are photographers. That means getting them cameras and laptops to work on."
Or maybe money to put down on a new apartment.
Joseph says dozens of people have commented on the page, willing to chip in to help their online family in an offline way.
Click here to find out how to donate.
