March 16, 2005

Cooley Rallies to Help Fire Victims

Lansing, Michigan - Cooley Law School staff and faculty raised close to $2,500 to help fire victim Juanita Middleton and her family start over. Middleton, who is the sister of Cooley afternoon receptionist Vivian Jackson-Boko, lost her residence along with all the other tenants of the Waverly Park Apartments when the complex burned to the ground Feb. 8.

Middleton, fresh off foot surgery and just settled in for a nap, was home with her two teen-age daughters when frantic apartment maintenance personnel dashed through the building, hollering at residents to flee before the building exploded. A car had hit the building's gas main and danger was imminent.

Middleton sent her daughters out to safety then worked at hobbling down the stairs. She rescued her family's birth certificates, but didn't have time for anything else. She made it to safety just as the building started to go, then, with others, watched in horror as the gas ignited and their homes burst into flames.

In the space of a few moments, they, like the others had gone from a modest but comfortable life to nothing. Clothes, food, beds, dishes, furniture, shelter — all gone.

Apartment management set to work getting the 60 or so displaced families into unused apartments. There were some bumps in the process, Middleton indicated, but they were grateful to have a roof over their heads.

The call went out at Cooley that relatives of a staff member were in trouble. Could they help? Could they! Within the space of a couple weeks, Middleton had clothing, furniture, bedding, and appliances, as well as money and gift cards for necessities they could pick out themselves at several local stores.

Confused clerks could not figure out why the teen-agers were crying as they picked out items, until Middleton explained to them what had happened and how grateful they were for the assistance. "My sister and family were happy and crying at the same time at my Cooley family's outpouring of support," Jackson-Boko said.

The donations were both a practical and emotional lift, she explained. "Thanks to my wonderful Cooley family, Juanita and her daughters have a huge head start at rebuilding their lives."

Cooley has three campuses across Michigan; its main campus in downtown Lansing, its downtown Grand Rapids/Western Michigan University campus in west Michigan, and its Rochester/Oakland University campus in southeast Michigan. You can find out more about Cooley Law School by visiting the Cooley Web site at www.cooley.edu.