Encouraging Stories-Community comes to aid of local teacher

Less than three weeks after a fire destroyed everything she owned, preschool teacher Shel Bruce and her son have been the beneficiaries of an outpouring of community support.

Bruce, an instructor at Annsworth Academy, a private preschool in Killearn, said her main concern was the safety of her son when a fire broke out at her mobile home on Kidd Thomas Lane on Oct. 7.


Travis Oaks, spokesman for the Tallahassee Fire Department, said the fire started in the kitchen and by the time
firefighters arrived the home was engulfed in flames.

Stedman Bruce, 19, was inside the house when the fire broke out, and he made it out safely.

Oaks said the value of the home was $35,000, and the damage caused by the fire was estimated between $25,000 and $30,000.

Bruce said she is often asked by others how she could be so strong and still keep standing.


"It's God's grace, and it's the prayer of people. They are the ones who make me strong," she said. "Their hugs, words of encouragement and just being there helps so much words cannot describe.

Click here to read the entire story from the Tallahassee (FL) Democrat.