Daily 49er - Campus ministry group helps fire victims

By Zamná Ávila
On-line Forty-Niner

The Victory Campus Ministry group at Cal State Long Beach is attempting to raise $5,000 to help a family which two of their members rescued from a burning two-story apartment in Long Beach.

“My hope would be to raise somewhere in the area of $3,000,” said Mike Lastrina, assistant campus director of Victory Campus Ministry.

The cause of the fire, which occurred April 15 at the 1000 block of Grand Ave, has not been determined.

Melissa Lastrina held her baby in her arms when she saw a woman and her child hanging out of a cloud of smoke from window of a two-story apartment. Melissa alerted her husband Mike and family friend Giovanni ‘John’ Filipponi who immediately ran to aid the mother and child.

“It was like a scene from ‘Real TV,’” said Filipponi, a CSULB recreation and leisure studies major.

Neighbor, Richard Clokey, also aided in the rescue of the family. Clokey ran toward the fire and found Dolores Ruiz, 30 holding her two-year-old child Jeremy by his arms. Ruiz convinced her to release her son and he caught him.

“It was my only day off,” Clokey said. “There is a reason why I was at home that day.”

Once the child was safe, Lastrina and Filipponi persuaded the woman, who was hesitant to jump and caught her.

Filipponi credits his background as a life guard and a class he recently took on first response for his ability to manage the situation.

“It was wonderful that they were there,” said Wayne Chaney, a Long Beach Fire Department spokesperson. “If they weren’t, the woman may have dropped the child on ground.”

The fire was contained within 15 minutes. Dolores and Jeremy Ruiz were taken to Long Beach Memorial Hospital were the two were treated for minor injuries and released. Jeremy’s father, Erik Ruiz was promptly notified and informed of the situation.

Lastrina and Filipponi decided to raise funds to help the family through Victory Campus Ministry because as a non-profit organization, the donations are tax-deductible.

Filiponni is doing his part in seeking assistance for the Ruiz family by speaking at classes and encouraging faculty to contribute to their cause.

The group is a Christian congregation that focuses on building leadership skills for students to be productive members of society through mentoring. While their aim is not directly related to fundraising, the circumstance merits the encouragement of their group and community to aid the family affected by the fire, Lastrina said.

Mike and Melissa Lastrina are planning to contact the Ruiz family within the next few weeks to help them with the contributions they collect and possibly request a list from the family of things they need. Thus, people who do not wish to contribute money may donate materials and possibly purchase toys for Jeremy.

Lastrina emphasizes the importance of helping others and says there is a lesson to be learned.

“In our society today many people focus so heavily material possessions, and in an instant those things could vanish,” Lastrina said. “It is not important to strive to gain material wealth, the real importance is who you are on the inside and what you do to make society better.”

Contributions for the Ruiz family can be made out to Victory Campus Ministry at 1053 Grand Ave. Long Beach, CA 90804 or by contacting Mike Lastrina at mike.lastrina@vcm.com or (562) 243-0428.