BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Saying that people who lived in the now-decimated Sagamore neighborhood are family is no exaggeration for Dana Stevens Kogler and Stephanie Clark.
"Well, we are cousins," said Stevens Kogler, who moved to Colorado three months ago to be closer to family, including Clark. "Our kids just walked through here to get to your house."
Their homes were just a few blocks apart, and they both lost everything they owned in the Marshall Fire.
"Our neighborhood went up in flames in minutes," Clark said. "We were the warning for everyone else."
Both of their families barely made it out of their homes in time before their homes burned to the ground.
"It was literally the clothes on their back, and we lost everything, every memory," Stevens Kogler said.
They thought they would receive immediate FEMA housing assistance, but Clark was denied. In a message, the agency said that she was adequately insured. Clark says she has $10,000 in content coverage for a family of five.
"We don't have much, and so it's very devastating to just not even have any relief," Clark said. "No one's there to help you pick up the pieces."
That is where generous donations from Denver7 Gives viewers come in. We took the cousins shopping at Macy's to buy clothes for their sons, their husbands and themselves.
"People ask you, and they're so sweet, but they say, 'What do you need?' You need everything," said Clark, who knows the need will be long-term, but that in the short-term, everything helps. "For a teenager, it's awkward to go to school and be like, 'Yeah, I'm wearing someone else's clothes or their hand-me-down.' It's just so, so special to be able to give them something that's just theirs, that's new."
Click here to go directly to the Denver7 Gives donation form then choose a campaign
Denver7 Gives also gave them two $250 Macy's gift cards to help when they move out of the hotel and into new apartments next week.
"And I'm just so grateful because their gifts are making a difference in our lives, in the basic needs that we need right now," Stevens Kogler said. "I don't think anybody could possibly comprehend how important this is."
To donate directly to Stevens Kogler's GoFundMe,click here.
To donate directly to the Clark's GoFundMe, click here.
Denver7 features the stories of people who need help and now you can help them with a cash donation through Denver7 Gives. One hundred percent of contributions to the fund will be used to help people in our local community.
From housing to food banks and everything else in between, there are many ways people affected by the Marshall Fire can get help — and how you can help — following last week's devastating wildfire. Click here for more.
