Help Our Neighbors

On the morning of Thursday, March 3, members of our community suffered immeasurable loss when the Friendly Garden Apartments experienced an explosion and subsequent fire. More than 40 households were displaced and more than a dozen people were injured. Most residents escaped the fire with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, losing all their possessions in the destruction.

A Wider Circle has connected with government agencies and nonprofit partners to plan a swift response that fully meets the needs of these families. After the most urgent needs are met, the first priority will be to ensure that every family is settled back into a home. As this process is completed, A Wider Circle will focus on providing furniture and other necessities to replace the belongings that were lost. 100% of the funds raised through this page will go to directly to supporting those who were displaced by the fire.

As the situation develops and we learn more about the specific needs of each household, we will keep you posted, but in the meantime, here are additional ways you can help A Wider Circle support those affected:

• Purchase necessities ranging from drinking glasses to furniture using our Friendly Garden Apartments Amazon Wish List
• Bring donations of beds, bed frames, blankets, sheets, and new pillows to our Center for Community Service (9159 Brookville Road in Silver Spring) during our drop-off hours (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 9:00am-5:00pm; Sunday: 12:00pm-5:00pm)