On this week’s episode of This Hits Different, Shelby Cassesse tells a story of a bond between football players at Hampton High School, and the lengths that one went to help the other following a devastating fire.
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Football player helps family of helpers
About 400,000 American kinds live in foster care - many forced to spend childhood looking for a home, not just a house.
For years, Jake Premick was one of them.
When he was 13, he found the home he'd been searching for in Hampton Township.
“My parents decided that I was done bouncing around, because I bounced house to house growing up,” said Premick, a senior at Hampton High School. “They decided to adopt me.”
It was at that home on Cramlington Drive where Jake grew as a multi-sport athlete and successful student. And where the Premick’s continued to welcome foster kids.
“My mom loves kids so much, and just wants kids to have a good place to live,” Premick added.
It's also where tragedy struck on November 3rd, 2020.
“I was just chilling, and then heard a scream from downstairs,” Premick said.
Premick ran downstairs to a cloud of smoke and his mom trying to get water.
“Smoke was everywhere, it was crazy,” he said. “Then we all just ran out and saw the whole back of the house on fire.”
The Premick's lost their home after opening it to so many.
The family, who dedicated their life to helping others, was now in need themselves.
“I’m not going to lie, it was devastating,” Premick said. “I finally felt like I had a home that I could finish high school with.”
It wasn't long before Jake's teammate on the football team, Jayden Resch, heard the news.
He immediately ran upstairs and got to work.
“I had never heard of GoFundMe before,” Resch said. “So I was like, I’ll get it together, I’ll do it, and we’ll see what happens. I never used it before. I just went up to the guest bedroom and started grinding.”
He set the goal amount at $10,000. Donations well surpassed that within a few hours.
“So I kept it there and was like, we’ll see if we get close to $15,000,” Resch said. “It was at $16,000, (and I) raised it to $25,000, then $30,000, then $35,000. I think it topped out around $36,000.”
$36,000 raised, all thanks to a teenager who just wanted to help a friend. It was moving news for the Premick's as they tried to get back on their feet.
“My mom was so happy,” Premick said. “My dad was in tears. It was a great feeling, knowing that Jaden had my back like that, and that the whole Hampton community wanted to help our family.”
And a proud moment for Hampton football coach Jaques DeMatteo, who welcomed Jake to stay with his family right after the fire.
“If the country was run like a football team, I think we would have a pretty awesome place to live,” DeMatteo said. “It’s as simple as that.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re black, you’re white, it doesn’t matter. These kids, we come together, and that’s just the way it is.”
Now, with the support of their community, the Premick's are rebuilding a new house in the same spot.
But, for Jake Premick, home has nothing to do with a building.
“Wherever my family is is home,” he said. “From now on I have a stable family. They just let me know that I’m loved and I’m not going to be taken away.“Wherever they are, that's home.”