The Ohio County community is rallying together to lend their support for the Raley family, who lost their home in a recent fire. Here's how you can help Charlie, Samantha, and their four children.

Raley Family
Raley Family
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If there's one thing that I know about the Ohio County community, they pull together when a family needs it the most. This is no exception. The Raley family was so happy to finally pay off their trailer just a couple of months ago and then disaster struck.

Fire Destroys Raley Family Home

Overheating bathroom exhaust fans is not uncommon and sometimes can start a fire. That's what happened to this family. The flames started in an exhaust fan and then caught the trash can in the master bathroom on fire. In the blink of an eye, the fire spread to the master bedroom, and now the home is a complete loss. What wasn't burned in the fire, was ruined by all of the smoke. The trailer is just a shell with everything ruined inside of it. To make things worse, they didn't have insurance and are starting all over. I can't even imagine what this family of six is going through. Charlie, Samantha, and their four children need us to step in and there's no doubt that the beautiful Ohio County community will do just that.

We can help them get back on their feet and have some fun in the process.

Photo showing just some of the devastation after the fire.
Photo showing just some of the devastation after the fire.
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Benefit Ride for the Raley Family

The beautiful biking community will be gathering together to raise money to benefit the family. Come out on Sunday, October 17th, 2021 for a benefit ride at the Beaver Dam Walmart parking lot. Registration will begin at 2:00 PM and kickstands up at 2:30 PM. It's $20 per bike with all of the proceeds going to the family. The family lost everything, including clothes, furniture, toys, and essentials. They will need to completely rebuild their lives. The community will rally together to show their support for the family on Sunday and they hope that you can make it too.

You can also make monetary donations or drop off clothing, toys, or any other essentials for the Raley family at Commonwealth Community Bank in Hartford. Monetary donations are what's needed the most to help them get back on their feet.

Raley Family
Raley Family
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Charlie Raley took to social media days after the fire to show appreciation for the community support.

"How blessed are we? Our house burns and in return we get the out-pouring love from our Lord Jesus and our community! So many people have helped us and some have gone above and beyond. My wife was right, we have an army behind us, and Jesus Christ is leading it. People always say Jesus gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers, and even though I don’t feel strong, I am with the armor of God. I’m not perfect by any means, and I fail Jesus daily, but my Jesus is always on time when I need him. I will trust in him and continue living life to his will! I just want to say from the bottom of my heart how appreciative I and my family are. There are so many people to recognize that I could never tag them all! So with this post, I say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We love every one of you. And we couldn’t be more thankful! Please continue to pray for us as we try to get back on track with our lives. We will get through this. Thank you all. I’m so grateful!"

Samantha had this to share, "I just want to say that my family and I are so blessed! You have no idea how much it means to us to see so many people help us out. We love all of y’all! We have an army behind us and Jesus Christ is leading it."

They may have lost all of their material possessions, but they still have faith, friendships, and family to help them heal.

Keep Bikers Safe on the Road

We pray for your safety on Sunday. I hope that it's a beautiful day! Drivers, please read the wonderful words written by Doug Burns on his social media page.

"NON RIDERS TAKE NOTE!!!!!
Riders know this, but the general public may not be aware. If you have never been part of a benefit ride you should know at least this:
Bikers PAY to ride. Something they could do for free. But they choose to pay to ride, the fee can be anywhere between $10 to $20 or $30 per person. Not only do they pay to ride, they usually drop a lot of cash for the extras. Raffles, 50/50, and silent auctions, even Toy Runs for kids, etc. When you see a group ride by, they are probably riding for charity/great causes/benefits! Instead of getting upset because they blocked traffic or caused you a slight delay, please remember this: They are very generous people!!!
Give them space and your patience. It sometimes helps to have a little reminder about things. So please be patient and smile when you see them because they are doing something good for someone you may know, or for a good cause
." #ridingforsmiles

I couldn't have said this any better myself! I see their generosity around every corner, including with the Christmas Wish program. There's nothing better than to see a big ole' burly motorcycle rider come in with dolls and toys for children in need. It warms this girl's heart! #giving #lovethem #thanks

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