JACKSONVILLE, Texas — Lourdes Camacho was just arriving home from work when she noticed smoke coming from the Green Trails Apartment Complex, where she calls home. When she got closer, she realized it was her unit.
The fire was put out and nobody was harmed. But when the smoke cleared, Camacho realized she had lost almost everything.
"You don't realize that everything is gone. And you need everything. You don't have a toothbrush, you don't have towels, you don't have anything," Camacho said.
She was a recent graduate of the Citizen's Police Academy in Jacksonville. Once they heard the news, they immediately stepped up to help their fellow alumni.
The Academy President was the first to begin the donations. He donated $100 and challenged others to match it. Soon enough, the donations kept rolling in until they had reached thousands for Camacho.
"And within that challenge, we roughly had about 21 to 25 people who took part in that challenge and ran with it. And we were able to raise that money for her," said Dillon Rodriguez, from the Academy.
Now, they've raised almost $3,000 for Camacho to help her recover from her losses and help rebuild her life. She knows it will be a long process to replace everything she once had. However, she's beyond grateful for the community support she's received from the people that mean so much to her.
"I knew that this community was very united already. But for me to be an actual witness to it... It's amazing, it was really just amazing," Camacho said.