A month ago, Rockyford resident, Angie Bergnach woke up to the smell of smoke in her house and her life has not been the same since.

Her house, which was partially burnt down, forced her to find a living situation elsewhere, but the village of Rockyford has come together to support her.

Neighbor and friend of Bergnach, Charlotte Bencharski, has organized a fundraiser on her behalf.

“I know how I would feel if that happened, and usually we can do fundraisers in our town, but because of COVID, we can’t do any big get-togethers. So, my husband and I own the dog park here, so we are going to have it in there, and just let 20 people in at a time and sell hot dogs,” she explained. “It’s not just me, I have a neighbor baking bread to sell, I have people phoning to donate, I even have people from Strathmore wanting to donate. It is amazing.”

Bencharski continued to enthuse about Bergnach's character and her involvement in the town.

“She is a very proud person, so I understand that too. But, I know she would do it for anybody else. She has lived here for about 30 years now.”

Current COVID-19 restrictions make any kind of function a challenge but Bencharski is determined to make her event a success.

“I have talked to a health inspector about this and everything that I’m doing is completely legal. We are going to have gloves on, we are going to have masks. We are making sure there are only 20 people at a time in the dog park.”

The hot dog fundraiser was held at the Rockyford Dog Park, Saturday, July 11, and raised $1,000. The Rockyford Lions Club also donated $2,500 to Bergnach as well. 

(l-r) Lion Treasurer Robert Koester, Lion Darcy Burke, Lion President Jace Mullen, Angie Bergnach and Lion Bill Goodfellow. Photo courtesy of the Rockyford Lions Club Lions