Staff photo / Ed Runyan JoAnn Truax has been in charge of the Helping Hands Closet at Western Reserve United Methodist Church, 4580 Canfield Road, for about nine years.

CANFIELD TOWNSHIP — JoAnn Truax has been involved in helping area residents through her church, Western Reserve United Methodist Church, 4580 Canfield Road, for many years.

She is in her ninth year of being in charge of the church’s Helping Hands Closet, which accepts and sells new and gently used clothes for men, women, teens and children at low prices in the back of the church.

The church is also known for its Garage, Attic & Basement sale, a once-yearly sale in May at the church for about the last 60 years.

That sale includes larger items than the Helping Hands Closet. For instance, the sale includes furniture, outdoor furniture, small appliances, linens, toys and bicycles, kitchenware, lamps, tools and hardware, in addition to clothing.

“We are so blessed that people donate to us, and more than half of the people who call me, I don’t know who they are,” Truax said.

Recently Truax read about a family of 10 whose home at 490 W. Boston Ave. on Youngstown’s South Side caught fire Sept. 29, destroying the home and forcing the family to move into a home given to them by a family member.

Firefighters got a 911 call at 5:52 a.m. When they arrived, all 10 residents had escaped. Alecia Forester said her 13-year-old daughter saved everyone.

“We got out just in time. If she wouldn’t have woken us up, we wouldn’t have ever made it out,” she said.

The girl heard a boom and went downstairs. Seeing the fire, she “came and woke everybody up,” Forester said.

“She was like ‘Mom get up, there’s a fire, there’s a fire.’ And that’s when I woke my husband up. And we all got out, but the kids were already out. She made sure everybody went out,” Forester said.

Truax said she wanted to help the family, John and Alecia Forester, and their eight children, ages 17, 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 9 and 7, and contacted them.

“I know this family is in need,” Truax said. She made arrangements with the couple, and they came recently to the Helping Hands Closet with a list of sizes for their children and picked out clothing for everyone, including the parents.

There was no cost to the family. Items of clothing usually sell for about $4 each for a top or pants.

The next day after the fire, Alecia Forester told The Vindicator she and her family had rented the home for four years, and they were hoping to buy it. The fire destroyed all of their clothing and furniture.

“Right now, we have nothing. We have to start over from scratch,” she said. “Apparently it was arson. Someone tried to set the house on fire. I don’t know why. We don’t bother anybody.”

Charles Hodge, Youngstown fire investigator, confirmed the fire is being investigated as arson. That conclusion is based on testing of materials collected from the fire, he said.

There is a sign in front of the home offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification of the person or persons responsible for starting the fire. The sign asks for anyone with information to call 330-782-0055.

Truax said it’s important to help others, like a woman who recently had to quit her job to care for her 96-year-old mother, who underwent two surgeries in six weeks.

“We paid for half of her rent,” Truax said. “Expenses have caught up with her.”

Truax went to the woman’s property owner and paid the money directly to them.

“She’s going to be OK in November,” Truax said. “That’s the kind of thing that we’re supposed to be doing, I guess.”