NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — More than a month after a fire at a Bellevue apartment complex, a resident is looking to help his neighbors.
It was in June when I first met Addrian Frederick. At the time, he was training to bike 1,500 miles from Indiana to Florida in memory of his mother Sophie. Along the way, Addrian raised money for organizations supporting single mothers and families in need through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
"We raised just over $22,000 during the duration of the ride," Addrian said. "We're still counting."
Addrian had only been back in middle Tennessee from his ride for eleven days when something happened at his Avana Lexington apartment complex in Bellevue. It was mid-July.
His friend Phillip Bonner in a nearby apartment was up that night.
"I just felt a presence in my chest that said, 'go outside,'" Phillip said. "I just noticed an orange glow out of the corner of my eye."
"We had an apartment fire," Addrian added.
Phillip got the fire department and knew he had to get people out of the building.
"I started knocking from the top floor down," Phillip said.
"I woke up to my dog barking and jumping on my chest," Addrian said.
The Nashville Fire Department said the fire was accidental caused by smoking. 24 units were effected, but everyone got out okay.
"To see them and to be able to give them a hug, to know they have another day, that meant the most to me," Phillip said.
Addrian and other residents have been placed in other units in the complex. He said that trip across the country taught him something about people.
"People love to help," Addrian explained. "People love to serve each other. I'd learned a lot about fundraising just from my mom's fundraiser, so I wanted to do something."
He's opened this GoFundMe page: Donate to Aid Families Affected by Bellevue Fire.
"It's just enough to put some extra money in folks' pockets while insurance is doing their thing while they can get by in the meantime," Addrian said.
"That's what we're meant to do as humans," said Phillip. "These people deserve all the help they can get."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Forrest Sanders recently introduced us to a Nashville hero named Eudora Boxley. She was the first black woman to have a cooking show on TV in Nashville. Her grandson was precious describing Eudora and how she raised him and how proud he and the family were of her impact not only on WLAC but on a city during the turbulent Civil Rights Era. A woman who did extraordinary things at a time when history did not expect her to.
-Amy Watson
