Victory Lane Cafe is gearing up to host a fund-raiser for a family whose home burned down last week.
Paul Lawhorn and Danielle Verdick’s daughters, Giana and Kerrigan, were trapped inside the southwest Cape Coral home Feb. 15 after a kitchen fire erupted.
Both girls made it out alive with the help of a neighbor, but the house was destroyed, the family dog was killed and Lawhorn and Verdick now have to start over.
“They are starting all over with every pot and pan,” said Susan Daggett, co-owner of Victory Lane Cafe. “It’s the small things you don’t think about when you’re starting over, and when you have two little ones, it’s hard enough to take care of them.”
Verdick is a server and bartender at Victory Lane, so it was natural for Daggett and her daughter, Billie Joe, to support their employee in her time of need.
Verdick has been working at Victory Lane for three years, through the birth of both children, ages 2 and 18 months, and was on duty when the call came in about the fire.
“She was working when she got the call that her children were being taken to the hospital,” Daggett said.
According to Daggett, the family has since moved into a duplex and has began the intense process of rebuilding their lives.
The fund-raiser will hopefully help to move them in that direction. Starting at noon, the event features a barbecue, live music, raffle prizes, auctions, roulette and black jack tables.
Daggett said the community really came through for the Lawson-Verdick family in the days following the fire, and she hopes it will continue to do so this weekend.
“People have been very generous, they have really come through,” she said. “It’s great to be an American because, especially during these times, people you don’t know come through. They have heart, and they give what they can.
“She’s really blessed,” Daggett added.
For more information on the fund-raiser, call Victory Lane Cafe at 995-0340. The cafe is located at 4120 Hancock Bridge Parkway.