Orange City charity organization voting on how to move forward after fire

A charity organization in Volusia County is trying to figure out how to move forward.

A vote Monday night will decide which contractor will be rebuilding the Orange City Fraternal Order of the Eagles headquarters after the building burned down back in July.

One of the reasons the club is so eager to get back up and running is so that it can get to its normal charity work. Every Thanksgiving for years, the Fraternal Order of the Eagles in Orange City would gather food to give meals out to needy families at Orange City Elementary.

That won’t happen this year. The group’s kitchen where they’d store that food is still in ruins. FOX 35 News walked through the area with the Orange City FOE’s Secretary, Janine Jewell. She said seeing the rubble four months after the fire was devastating. 

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"It's been very tough," said Jewell.

The building had insurance, but Jewell says it won’t be enough to fix all the damage and replace what’s needed.

"We feel like we're at a standstill," said Jewell. "We want to be able to get out there and do what we did for everybody and we can't do anything right now."

Some of what they lost, they’ll never get back.

"A lot of these tiles that are on the ceiling have been from members that have passed," said Jewell. "We can't replace them."

The Eagles have had some help from other organizations that have offered up their space. That way, they’re still occasionally able to host fundraisers, both for themselves and for other charities.

However, the Fraternal Order is still committed to getting its own space back. They want to rebuild in the very same spot they’ve always been.

"When we come back up and running, we're going to have a party," Jewell said.