Community rallies to support five children in northern Ontario who lost both parents
It’s a heart-wrenching story of loss. Five children from Sudbury are living with their aunt in Webbwood after the death of their mother due to complications from pneumonia in early January.
The tragedy comes after the children lost their father to a heart attack in December 2020.
Anita Kennedy (L) and Don Kenny (R) both passed away leaving behind five children in Sudbury. (Amy Kennedy)
Two of the kids -- Skye Kenny, 15, and her sister Maddison, 13 -- both attended St. Charles College. Two of their teachers decided to create a Go Fund Me page.
The fund is intended to help their aunt, Amy Kennedy, with costs associated with taking in the two girls and their three siblings: six-year-old twins Wyatt and Chase, and Gage, age 11.
"We didn’t expect any of it and we’re just thankful that they decided to do that," Kennedy said.
"We had to get them new school shoes, backpacks and stuff for the kids. We’ve had to buy new beds, bedding. It’s helped out with transportation for the kids to go back and forth to school until we can get them on the bus."
With the addition of the five children, Kennedy now has nine children under her roof.
"It’s not that hard during summer (or) when it's March Break and Christmas. We have my spouse's four kids come down and stay with us, so it's not really a big difference. But it is hard when the kids have their moments when they fight with each other."
So far the page has raised more than $8,000, but that’s not the only support they have received from the community.
"I would also like to thank Home Hardware in Espanola," she said. "They donated a lot of lumber and drywall and doors so we could make bedrooms. The Lion’s Club in Espanola, they donated $1,000 in Giant Tiger gift cards."
Kennedy said she's overwhelmed by the generosity and the support the family has received.
"I can’t believe how many generous people are out there," she said.
Kennedy said the children are doing OK considering the circumstances and that they all have been seeing counselors to help with their grief.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
U.K. plan to phase out smoking for good passes first hurdle
The British government's plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party.
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.