‘We’ve just got to move on?: local positive after boys? home fire

Brandon Twp.- Steve Koslowski checked his e-mail before going to bed on Oct. 12, just as he always does. What he found there, however, kept him awake long into the night.
Koslowski learned that the day before, vandals had broken into the Swift-Purscell Boys? Home in Jamaica and started a fire. The blaze destroyed much of the Georgian-style building that volunteers had been remodeling after a hurricane damaged it in 1998.
‘It was pretty wrenching,? says Koslowski, a township resident and owner of Koz’s Fun Fish who has been raising funds for a lunchroom at the home. ‘Now I am working on what do we have to do to get a new building. We’ve just got to move on.?
None of the more than 100 boys who live at the home were injured as they were asleep in a separate concrete building that has new dormitories and was untouched by the fire. The new lunchroom also escaped damage. It is in a separate wing from the destroyed ‘Great House,? administration center, and workshop area. A kitchen and laundry area sustained damage, but may be salvageable. The Georgian-style building, however, is not.
Koslowski, an artist who paints tropical fish on canvas, adirondack chairs, garden tools and more, began raising funds to build a lunchroom for the Swift-Purscell Boys Home more than a year ago. He and his wife, Pam Campbell, travel regularly to Jamaica and were inspired to help after seeing the devastation wrought by the hurricane. Koslowski set a goal of raising $20,000 for the new lunchroom. So far, he has raised more than $16,400 for the home for orphaned, abandoned and neglected boys with a golf outing and sales of his art. The cafeteria should be complete in June.
‘People have been coming out of the woodwork to get involved in this project,? Koslowski said. ‘The response is absolutely awesome.?
Koslowski is continuing his fundraising efforts, more vital than ever after the fire. He is selling a new cookbook, ‘Our Favorite Recipes from the Friends of Koz’s Fun Fish.? Cost is $12, with proceeds benefitting the Swift-Purscell Boys Home.
‘Things happen for a reason and I went down there for a reason, and I’m still working on it for a reason and that reason is the Jamaican children,? Koslowski said. ‘The children are more than the buildings and they are fine… I’m still thinking positive.?
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