A Mathews mother and her three children lost everything they owned in a house fire Friday afternoon.

Homeowner Ronald Clarke said his daughter, Sonia Wright Jenkins, her two teenaged daughters, and her 2-year-old son were not at home when the house that Clarke owns on White Point Lane in New Point caught fire and burned to the ground. All the family’s personal belongings—clothes, shoes, Christmas gifts—were destroyed.

He said that he had insurance on the house and its contents and will eventually get reimbursed for his losses, “but right now what they have is what they have on their backs.”

Two generous ladies from Cornerstone Fellowship Church took the family shopping and bought them enough clothes to last a week, said Clarke, expressing his gratitude. The family is staying with Clarke’s other daughter, Crystal Perkins, but he’s hoping to find them a house to rent “in a moderate price range” before Christmas. He said his older g...