Healdsburg is giving back to family behind burned Magnolia Manor senior care
Healdsburg resident Liz Matos is known for typically spending her time giving back to others through her Magnolia Manor senior residence home; yet, after her home and the senior living residence burned to the ground after a broiler explosion on Nov. 25, the community is now giving back to Matos through a GoFundMe fundraiser which has raised nearly $7,400.
After the startling explosion that rocked the Matos home and its six senior residents that Sunday evening, Matos’s friend Carmen Callinan and teachers at St. John the Baptist Catholic School (where Liz’s son Carlos goes to school) launched a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $10,000 for the family.
Since then, the site received an outpouring of donations and within 13 days 71 people raised $7,390 for the family.
And while Matos was thankful that everyone got out safely, the working mom now has even more to be thankful for.
“We don’t feel so alone now (with all of the help from donations),” Matos said. “We do all of this volunteer work with St. Johns and the Italian Federation not ever expecting anything in return and when something like this happens all those people remember what you’ve done for them and then they want to help… It feels good knowing they care about us and appreciate the work that we do.”
In addition to caring for her residents, Matos also runs the hot lunch program at St. John’s the Baptist Catholic School and has frequently worked as a one-on-one aid for the Kindergarten through fourth grade classes.
“Liz has a heart of gold and the patience of a saint and when tragedy struck we wanted to help her,” said SJS Kindergarten teacher Bernie Virapaeff, one of the creators of the GoFundMe page. “The GoFundMe seemed to be the answer… We not only wanted to surround her with our love but wanted to help alleviate some of the immediate financial stress.”
Matos and her residents are currently staying at Hotel Trio in downtown Healdsburg; however, Matos has her heart set on renting another property in Healdsburg which would become the new home for Magnolia Manor while the original building on 387 Magnolia Dr. is rebuilt.
Luckily, the donations would make such a move possible for her family and the five remaining residents who have decided to stay.
“It will probably go towards renting a home while we work to rebuild,” she said. “We need a place for the interim to run the home and care for our patients and this place would fit us and our residents.”
Also working to give back to the family is Sony Corporation, who heard that the community worked to get Carlos a PlayStation since all of his toys were lost and worked to get him additional gaming equipment. The Red Cross also provided initial aid to the family and the six patients, providing care packages and lodging for two nights.
Magnolia Manor has been a part of the Matos family since 2003 when Liz’s mom decided to open the senior care facility. Those who wish to make a donation to the Matos family/Magnolia Manor can do so by going to https://bit.ly/2Eo64PE.
And with such an outpouring of love and support from the community, Matos is confident that Magnolia Manor will be OK.
“We’re so grateful for anything, even just thoughts and prayers,” Matos said.
