Krispy Kreme and Riverlakes Community Church raised nearly $11,000 for the family of Kristina Stratton, the woman who died trying to save her kids from a house fire.
On February 8th, Stratton ran into her burning home with four of her five children.
“She had the love of a mother that would do anything for her children,” said Dean Barthelmus, a friend of the family.
For five hours Thursday evening, they gave out free donuts and asked for donations, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefitting Stratton’s children.
“We don’t have ties to the family, but we saw it was a family in our community that was in need,” said Brian Spongberg, whose family owns the Bakersfield Krispy Kreme. “Whatever they need to give them comfort in this hard time, then that’s what we want it to go towards.”
The community has since rallied to support the family.
Riverlakes Community Church held a celebration of life for Stratton and clothing drive for her kids.
Two GoFundMe pages have raised more than $58,000.
“When somebody is hurting and needs support, you need to reach out to them and show any way we can love and affection towards them no matter what,” Barthelmus said.
