Source: (Repost) West Side Rag
By Lily Seltz
By the time about 150 people gathered at Ascension Roman Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon for a Christmas concert, the church had raised over $208,000 to support residents made homeless by last Tuesday’s four-alarm fire at 201 West 107th Street.
That was nearly ten times the church’s initial goal of $22,000, or $1,000 for residents in each of the building’s 22 units.
The money, distributed at Sunday’s gathering, will be a “real and tangible help as people begin this long, laborious work of rebuilding their lives,” said Reverend Daniel S. Kearney, pastor of Ascension, which is just down the block at 221 West 107th Street.
Factoring in the additional money that Ascension expects to raise between now and Christmas, Kearney was able to hand a $10,000 check to residents of each of the building’s units.