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Date: 1/25/2023
LUDLOW – The Chappel family lost their home, all their belongings and three pets to a fire in October 2022 and the community has been rallying to help ever since.
In support of these efforts, the Chappel family and friends will host a spaghetti dinner fundraiser with proceeds going to the family fire rebuilding fund on Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. at the Polish American Citizens Club.
Tickets for the fundraiser will be $15 for adults and $5 for kids between the ages of five to 12.
Food will be served from 5 to 7 p.m. and there will also be raffles, a 50/50 raffle and a cash bar.
The Polish American Citizens Club is located at 355 East St.
Tickets for the fundraiser can be purchased at the Polish American Club, Mandarin Wilbraham at 2571 Boston Rd. in Wilbraham or In a Flash Digital & Photo Lab at 481A Breckwood Blvd. in Springfield.
Joan Rollins, mother of Heather Rollins-Chappel asked if people can RVSP ahead of time so they can get a head count of how much food the Polish Club needs to prepare.
Rollins said, “You can walk into any of those places to purchase tickets, but we will also have some tickets at the door right before the dinner.”
You can call 219-3955 with any questions or visit Facebook at fb.me/e/2wRcJuIIY to find the event.
All the money raised will help replace items lost in the fire according to Rollins.
Rollins-Chappel has a Facebook page that she tries to post in weekly to thank people for their support and updates on her.
The community, friends and family have put together multiple fundraisers to help support the Chappel family.
“We are very fortunate. They say everybody needs a village, well we all have villages of our own and all our villages have come together to create a huge village for this family,” Rollins added.
The family of four consists of Heather and Chip Chappel who also have two children, one who attends Baird Middle School.
In November 2022, students and staff at Baird Middle School hosted multiple fundraisers to raise close to $4,500 to help the Chappel family purchase everyday essential supplies and clothing.
A GoFundMe page was also started to help raise money for a new place for the Chappel family to stay, clothes and other essentials.
Right now, the goal is $40,000 and there has been over 400 donations bringing the total amount raised to approximately $35,000 as of press time.
The Chappel family is currently in a rental house while their old house was demolished and debris was being removed.
They are currently waiting on final plans to present to the town so they can start rebuilding the foundation and new house.
Rollins added, “Insurance pays for them to stay in the rental for one year from the incident and rebuilds can take a while. The funds from this fundraiser will have to be put aside because if the new house is not completed by this October because they [the Chappel family] will be responsible for their mortgage on the house that is being built and the expenses of the rental.”
The cause of the fire is undetermined according to Rollins.
She said, “It was so hot and happened so fast that they could not determine a cause.”