Kids & Family
Local Bank Joins Effort for Family After Mother Dies in House Fire
Dena Cooper, her two young sons and her brother Charles Shepherd lost their home and mother and grandmother in a house fire Friday night.
"It’s a tragic enough thing, and anything I can do to help I'm going to do.”—Kimani Kyles, relationship banker and small business specialist for Chase Bank in Wyandotte.
The Wyandotte community has rallied around four residents whose home was destroyed and mother and grandmother was killed in a house fire Friday. The family also lost two dogs in the fire—one dog died in the blaze and the other is missing.
Total strangers began dropping clothes and other items off at a makeshift donation center created by a caring neighbor, Kathy Slack.
Despite the communities best efforts, Dena Cooper, 39; her brother Charles Shepherd, 26; and Cooper's two sons, Christian, 11, and Cameron, 8, still cannot afford to pay the $7,000 it is expected to cost to bury their beloved Iris Shepherd. Iris was 56 years old.
In an effort to make donating to the family easier Wyandotte Chase Bank locations at, 3200 Biddle Ave. and 1909 Fort Street, created an account Tuesday, where people can donate as much or as little as they like.
Kyles said people can visit either Wyandotte location, or any location nationwide, and tell the bank teller he or she would like to donate to the Iris Shepherd Cooper Family Fund.
"They can deposit at any Chase location, as long as they have that terminology (Iris Shepherd Cooper Family Fund)," Kyles said. "Someone should be able to accommodate them."
Kyles added, while the employees at the Downtown Wyandotte branch are aware of the tragedy, other branches may not be. He encouraged people wanting to donate to visit his branch to save time, if possible. Supporters can fill out a deposit slip and will receive a receipt for their contribution.
Employees at Chase Bank in Wyandotte are currently working on QuickDeposit access, so contributors can scan a check and send it to the above account via email.
*Look to Wyandotte Patch for more information on QuickDeposit access.
Total strangers began dropping clothes and other items off at a makeshift donation center created by a caring neighbor, Kathy Slack.
Despite the communities best efforts, Dena Cooper, 39; her brother Charles Shepherd, 26; and Cooper's two sons, Christian, 11, and Cameron, 8, still cannot afford to pay the $7,000 it is expected to cost to bury their beloved Iris Shepherd. Iris was 56 years old.
In an effort to make donating to the family easier Wyandotte Chase Bank locations at, 3200 Biddle Ave. and 1909 Fort Street, created an account Tuesday, where people can donate as much or as little as they like.
Kyles said people can visit either Wyandotte location, or any location nationwide, and tell the bank teller he or she would like to donate to the Iris Shepherd Cooper Family Fund.
"They can deposit at any Chase location, as long as they have that terminology (Iris Shepherd Cooper Family Fund)," Kyles said. "Someone should be able to accommodate them."
Kyles added, while the employees at the Downtown Wyandotte branch are aware of the tragedy, other branches may not be. He encouraged people wanting to donate to visit his branch to save time, if possible. Supporters can fill out a deposit slip and will receive a receipt for their contribution.
Employees at Chase Bank in Wyandotte are currently working on QuickDeposit access, so contributors can scan a check and send it to the above account via email.
*Look to Wyandotte Patch for more information on QuickDeposit access.
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