Iowa Community Supports Family Who Lost Home, Business in House Fire

An Iowa community is banding together to support a family who lost everything they owned in a house fire over the weekend.

Sharon McCammant and her grandson, Dylan, lived at the Mitchellville home where Sharon ran her antique and furniture business, Sharon’s Treasures, WOI-DT reports. The residence burned down just before 2:00 a.m. Sunday, according to KCCR.

Danielle Kunze considers herself McCammant’s “adopted granddaughter” and says the building has been a fixture in the community, per WOI-DT.

“The building’s been here for so long … It was kind of surreal to realize it wasn’t there anymore,” Kunze said. “I try to reassure her every day that we’re gonna get through this.”

“It’s definitely sombering for her still. And just a lot of unknowns for her,” Kunze added. 

Now, community members are rallying behind McCammant and helping her in dire times.

The Hole Shebang restaurant, which is owned by Crystal Beattie’s family, held a pulled pork dinner fundraiser to benefit McCammant.

“I’ve known her since I was like 10,” Beattie told WOI-DT. 

Per KCCI, Beattie said:

I think it was just kind of automatic, like, “hey, this just happened. What can we do to help?” because we’ve known Sharon for years. She’s right down the road; we buy a lot of our home furniture from her and things like that, so I think an automatic like, “OK, hey, what are we going to do?”

McCammant’s friends Steven Schafer and Rhona Sickora made the drive to Mitchellville from Colfax for the event, according to WOI-DT.

“We’re friends. She treated us like family,” Schaffer said 

“Everybody’s contacting her, coming and seeing her; this town is really coming together for her,” Sickora explained. 

Jessica Baldwin owns Tavern 36 in Mitchellville and has another fundraiser in the works. 

“The night that the fire happened, our staff jumped into action and helped out,” Baldwin told WOI-DT. “One of our guys knew Sharon pretty well, so we decided that we needed to jump in and do something to help them.”

Kunze hopes to raise enough so the family can find a place to stay.

“She is truly overwhelmed and speechless for the amount of support that she is seeing for her,” Kunze told WOI-DT. “She really has no clue what to say, other than thank you.”

She noted McCammant already has her eyes set on rebuilding.

Kunze has also established a GoFundMe, which has raised over $3,000 of the $6,000 goal.