Campus
ministry group helps fire victims
By
Zamná Ávila
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Victory Campus Ministry group at Cal State
Long Beach is attempting to raise $5,000
to help a family which two of their members
rescued from a burning two-story apartment
in Long Beach.
“My
hope would be to raise somewhere in the
area of $3,000,” said Mike Lastrina,
assistant campus director of Victory Campus
Ministry.
The
cause of the fire, which occurred April
15 at the 1000 block of Grand Ave, has not
been determined.
Melissa
Lastrina held her baby in her arms when
she saw a woman and her child hanging out
of a cloud of smoke from window of a two-story
apartment. Melissa alerted her husband Mike
and family friend Giovanni ‘John’
Filipponi who immediately ran to aid the
mother and child.
“It
was like a scene from ‘Real TV,’”
said Filipponi, a CSULB recreation and leisure
studies major.
Neighbor,
Richard Clokey, also aided in the rescue
of the family. Clokey ran toward the fire
and found Dolores Ruiz, 30 holding her two-year-old
child Jeremy by his arms. Ruiz convinced
her to release her son and he caught him.
“It
was my only day off,” Clokey said.
“There is a reason why I was at home
that day.”
Once
the child was safe, Lastrina and Filipponi
persuaded the woman, who was hesitant to
jump and caught her.
Filipponi
credits his background as a life guard and
a class he recently took on first response
for his ability to manage the situation.
“It
was wonderful that they were there,”
said Wayne Chaney, a Long Beach Fire Department
spokesperson. “If they weren’t,
the woman may have dropped the child on
ground.”
The
fire was contained within 15 minutes. Dolores
and Jeremy Ruiz were taken to Long Beach
Memorial Hospital were the two were treated
for minor injuries and released. Jeremy’s
father, Erik Ruiz was promptly notified
and informed of the situation.
Lastrina
and Filipponi decided to raise funds to
help the family through Victory Campus Ministry
because as a non-profit organization, the
donations are tax-deductible.
Filiponni
is doing his part in seeking assistance
for the Ruiz family by speaking at classes
and encouraging faculty to contribute to
their cause.
The
group is a Christian congregation that focuses
on building leadership skills for students
to be productive members of society through
mentoring. While their aim is not directly
related to fundraising, the circumstance
merits the encouragement of their group
and community to aid the family affected
by the fire, Lastrina said.
Mike
and Melissa Lastrina are planning to contact
the Ruiz family within the next few weeks
to help them with the contributions they
collect and possibly request a list from
the family of things they need. Thus, people
who do not wish to contribute money may
donate materials and possibly purchase toys
for Jeremy.
Lastrina
emphasizes the importance of helping others
and says there is a lesson to be learned.
“In
our society today many people focus so heavily
material possessions, and in an instant
those things could vanish,” Lastrina
said. “It is not important to strive
to gain material wealth, the real importance
is who you are on the inside and what you
do to make society better.”
Contributions
for the Ruiz family can be made out to Victory
Campus Ministry at 1053 Grand Ave. Long
Beach, CA 90804 or by contacting Mike Lastrina
at mike.lastrina@vcm.com or (562) 243-0428.
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