East Juniata High School teacher injured in house fire

Local charities organized to help family

The house fire in Fayette Township, which was covered in Monday's edition of the Sentinel, was the home of EJHS teacher Drew Ciecierski and his wife, Daris. According to a GoFundMe established by the family, Drew was able to get their daughter out of the residence. When he re-entered the home (after leaving his daughter with a neighbor) to save his wife, the fire had grown worse. He was able to get Daris to safety, but not before both suffered severe burns requiring significant medical treatment. Daris received burns over 89% of her body, and the home was a total loss.

But in the days following the tragedy, says Jana Snyder (EJHS National Honor Society Advisor), there was an outpouring of support from amongst the students.

"I'm just the organizer," Snyder made abundantly clear before relaying the details of the fundraisers. "These are all student-driven ideas."

This Saturday, there will be a bake sale at Schlegel's from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to benefit the Ciecierski family. Boxes will be provided. There will also be gift cards, clothing and children's books for sale.

The kids also have organized a coupon fundraiser at Harshbarger's Sub N' Malt in Port Royal on Tuesday, May 11. Anyone who shows the wait staff a coupon will see a portion of their meal cost go towards the family. This also applies to photos of the coupons, and Snyder has posted on publicly in the local Facebook group: "W.J.A.Y. News & Weather," for anybody to use.

"It's been a joy as a teacher to see these kids take the bull by the horns and step up. These kids have direction… and they love Drew… But they call him 'Mr. C.' He's a great person."

In addition to the student fundraisers, a few other community fundraisers have been organized in the wake of the disaster:

¯A ticketed, carry-out spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the family at the McAlisterville Community Building on Friday, May 21, an event which has already sold out.

¯The Creme Stop in McAlisterville and Buds & Blooms are hosting an event called "Rose For A Reason" at the Creme Stop on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., where they will be selling single roses for $5 to benefit the family.

¯The Richfield Lions Club is hosting a drive-up, take-out fish and chicken tender dinner at Basom Park in Richfield Saturday, May 15 from 4p.m. – 7 p.m. or until meals are sold out. Proceeds will benefit Drew and Daris.

¯A GoFundMe has been set up by relatives of the family and has raised $54,000 of its $75,000 goal as of the time of this writing.

¯According to the official Facebook page of Mifflin County Children and Youth Services, they have set up a savings account at the First National Bank of Pennsylvania for Drew and Daris. Donations can be made at the Lewistown, Reedsville, or Thompsontown branches, or checks can be mailed to the Children and Youth office at 144 East Market Street, Lewistown, Pa., 17044, and they will see that it makes it into the fund.

Relatives of the family have also stated that, while they appreciate the outpouring of support in the form of donated clothing and furniture items, they do not currently have anywhere to store further donations of this type, and that Drew and Daris are too far removed from the point they would be moving into a new home for them to be able to accept household items like these as donations at this time.