Oneida Center’s Heartfelt Fundraiser For Melissa and Her Daughter

On Friday, January 21, 2022, Oneida Center on Kemble Street in Utica held a raffle to help Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Melissa Williams-Maddox. Ms. Maddox and her 15-year-old daughter lost everything in the well-publicized West Utica fire at the end of December 2021, the same fire that two little girls sadly lost their lives. Melissa and her daughter lived in the same location but downstairs and now have been relocated for the time being.

Melissa's employer Oneida Center has had a number of activities for her, all to raise money for her and her daughter, including a clothing drive, a fish fry on January 7th and a collection of gift baskets for the fundraiser. Administrator Xyier Woodard and his Activity Director Lillian Woodard have been leading this effort, with the help of another staffer named Steven Pulluaim, who started a GoFundMe page through his Facebook page.

So far the amount that has been raised from all avenues have amounted to $6,694, including more than $3,500 from the GoFundMe page, $2,000 from parent company Centers Health Care, and the rest from various contributions.

"This has been a facility-wide effort from our entire staff to Melissa and her daughter," said Administrator Woodard. "It breaks our hearts knowing what happened to them, but thank God they weren't hurt. Still, losing everything is incredibly hard and life-changing."