Prospect Park Community Pulls Together To Help 'Crossing Guard Lee,' Family After Fire Destroys Home
PROSPECT PARK, Pa. (CBS) -- When a morning fire destroyed the Delaware County home of a well-known crossing guard, Lee Pedrick, the community quickly pulled together to help. The Prospect Park chief of police said the family is in need of basically everything after escaping the home with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.
In what is a tight-knit community where it's said everybody knows everybody, this was home to the Pedrick family.
"Excellent people, like really kind and generous people," neighbor Denise Richardson said of the family.
Almost instantly a campaign got off the ground to help out those who Chief Dave Madonna says are always helping others.
"Everyone knows Lee Pedrick. He is the guy that is at the forefront of any collection that we have in town through his church -- clothing, food. Whenever there is somebody in need, Lee is the person that steps up," Madonna said.
Lee Pedrick is a crossing guard just down the street. He's best known as simply Crossing Guard Lee.
"In this particular case, everyone knows Lee, everyone knows what kind of person Lee is and so the outpouring already has been more than generous," Madonna said.
While the windows were boarded up quickly, much of what was inside was destroyed.
The chief issued a call for help at a time when the most giving folks in this Delaware County community are down on their luck and in need of a hand.
"I tried to talk to Lee this morning just to see did he need anything, could I help with anything. And they were just shellshocked," Richardson said.
Madonna says the preferred way to help out the family is with gift cards, which can be dropped off at the Prospect Park Police Department from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Nobody was injured.
