Around 2.30am on Tuesday, Jody White remembers waking up to the sound of smoke alarms at her home in Encinitas.
A married mother of three thought it was a false alarm until she reached halfway up the stairs and heard the roar of flames in the garage and the screams of a neighbor who saw the flames from across the street. For the next few frantic and confused minutes, White was able to call 911 and gather her children — her husband James was out of town that night — and escape safely from home, but only with the pajamas they wore.
The White House for 12 years and all their property was a complete loss. It was the same with inventory, fabrics and sewing equipment for Jody’s home-based online women’s clothing company All That Apparel. It was the family’s only source of income, as James was recently fired from advertising and marketing work, leaving the family without health insurance as well. Fortunately, the home itself was insured.
If the story of the White family could be silver, it is an outpouring of community support that has happened in the last few days. On Tuesday, neighbors and friends launched the GoFundMe campaign for the family, which raised $ 73,000 to a $ 100,000 target in just three days. Meanwhile, some friends who are out of town this month have offered the Whites their home as temporary accommodation. Friends launched a food train to feed the family, and a neighbor collected gift cards and cash to help the family provide for other immediate needs.
Carrie Jones, one of the leaders of the fundraising team in the GoFundMe campaign, has been one of Jody’s close friends for 10 years. She said whites are very popular in the Encinitas community. Their children are active in school sports and theater, and the family has a long history of returning.
“Jody is one of the most humble people I know,” Jones said. “A week before the fire, she took the children to Mexico to build homes for the people. He lives by showing himself to others. Encinitas is a small community, but the outpouring of love for the family extends beyond the city limits.
White family Encinitas, clockwise from top left, Scarlett, Grayson, James, Jody and Kingsley.
James and Jody White moved to Encinitas from James ’native England in 2010. Their 12-year-old twins Grayson and Scarlett were born in London, and their youngest son, 9-year-old Kingsley, was born here. After moving, Jody became a passionate activist of the community, raising awareness of marginalized groups, including the LGBTQ and BIPOC communities (blacks, indigenous, colored people). As co-founder and vice president of the Encinitas 4 Equality community group, she helped organize all the protests that took place at the Cardiff Cook statue following the May 2020 assassination of George Floyd.
“I’m an activist by nature,” she said. “I believe that if you have the opportunity to raise your voice for others we do not hear. It’s an obligation for me. “
Jody started her sustainability-focused business three years ago, in search of a creative way to leverage her design skills while caring for her children from home. She started making earrings from leftover leather and eventually expanded to the entire line of women’s clothing and accessories. In order to find a sustainable use of raw fabric that fashion houses no longer want, she buys unsold rolls and then creates items based on fabric designs.
At the time of the fire, she had about 100 rolls of goods stored in the garage, as well as tents, clothes racks and inventory of clothes she sold at local street fairs. The fire started in the garage for unknown reasons and spread to a room on the second floor directly above, where her sewing studio was located, and then destroyed the entire home. The fire also destroyed her car.
“I was right in the middle of production for the summer and now it’s all gone,” she said. “I have to start again and I don’t know how yet. i can’t think about it. I currently live by the minute. I’m just trying to show off for my kids and catch my breath. “
Jones said a team of friends helping the Whites are focusing their initial efforts on re-establishing and operating Jody’s business to give the family little room to breathe, while James continues to look for a new job. They also work quickly to get family clothes and school supplies for the kids.
White said she prefers the one that gives back to the community, so accepting all the donations, meals and help from others was exceptional and challenging.
“It was really hard to just accept that,” she said. “But as an activist, I’m attracted to the uncomfortable. I recognize this and try to step into it and accept it. I am so humble and so grateful for all the support I have received. It’s all unimaginable. “
Jones said Jody was initially so embarrassed by the fundraising campaign for her family that she insisted on closing the GoFundMe account, but her friends dissuaded her from doing so.
“The answer to Jody was,‘ No, let’s not turn it off. We will say yes to you. No one gives what they don’t want to give, ”Jones said. “We do this for Jody because she’s light. She is a joy and her family is a joy. Seeing that we get back to them is really important. “
To learn more about firefighting efforts, visit gofundme.com/f/help-the-white-family-after-house-fire.
