Shelby Harvey and her family suffered a harrowing ordeal at the end of November when they lost their Statesboro home to a fire, but the Brooklet native has been able to find a silver lining amidst the loss.
Harvey lives with her fiance, Joey Stinson. They are a blended family and have five children between the two of them: Harvey has two children who live with them full time, Gabe and Liam, and Stinson has three.
One day in early December, Harvey received a phone call that would change her holiday. Due to the unknown number and Texas area code, Harvey did not answer. Seconds later, she answered a call from her best friend, Amanda Eakin, who implored her to pick up the phone for the mystery number.
When the number called again, Harvey was patched through and greeted on the other end of the line by J-Si Chavez from The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio show based in Irving, TX. He read the letter Eakin had sent to the morning show, unbeknownst to Harvey, on the air.
“I am nominating my best friend, Shelby, and her fiance, Joey. Growing up, Shelby has not been given the best hand; although, she has pulled through every time. Shelby has lost her brother, father, and stepfather so close together. She has been through so much pain and sorrow; however, last night was one of the worst. Her family lost their house in a fire. She lost everything. She is supposed to be planning for a wedding in May and now, instead, she’s having to worry about clothes on the kids’ backs. I am getting together every group I can to help out in any way. I did go to the store last night and get the essentials the family of four needed to get through the night. She has two young boys: 10 and seven. We are all just heartbroken for her and she [hasn’t] even thought about Christmas. I’m reaching out for any support to help them through this. Thank you so much.”
They granted Eakin’s Christmas wish for Harvey: the radio show donated $1,500, so Harvey could provide Christmas for her family, including her bonus children.
“The money went to all five children; I love his children like my own,” Harvey says.
As an added bonus, the Go Fund Me organized by Shelby’s friend, Candace Hardin, surpassed its original goal. The fundraising effort was mentioned on air and many people donated including a member of the morning show’s cast.
Harvey would like to thank everyone who donated and offered their support to her family during this challenging time.
“It’s so humbling in these hard times that somebody would give my family money,” reflects Harvey. “So many people donated to us not knowing me and it was just incredibly kind.”
Above all else, Harvey is thankful that her family was not home at the time of the fire, and her dogs, who were in the backyard at the time, were unharmed.
“Everything else is pretty much replaceable,” Harvey says.
Harvey and Stinson have so much to look forward to in 2024. They plan to wed in May, and Harvey recently found out she has been accepted into the nursing program at Ogeechee Technical College. She starts in early January.
Throughout it all, Harvey has held tight to a positive attitude and a grateful heart.
“I never had any idea that something good could come from something bad.”
The Harveys’ Go Fund Me can be found by searching “Shelby and Joey House Fire” on the Go Fund Me homepage or by clicking this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/37hx2bt8u0.
