TAUNTON — When a Taunton school bus driver heard that one of her students had lost just about everything she owned in a fire Monday Pay it forward,” said the school bus driver were among at least six people displaced when a fire broke out in a multi-family house on Prospect Street on Monday afternoon Carvalho said his family lost just about all of their possessions in the fire said through a friend that the family’s Christmas tree and gifts were among the items destroyed said she posted a message on her personal Facebook page asking people to donate and got an immediate response She drove around Wednesday on her own time picking up donations A Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School driver donated a bag of clothing A friend of Landry’s who is moving donated a big box of household items Melissa’s 13-year-old daughter Angelina gave some of her own clothes to Sofia Landry herself went to Walmart and Ocean State Job Lot Tuesday night and bought snacks and a paint set for Sofia and necessities for her parents Then on Thursday Landry set up a GoFundMe page for the family “Taunton comes together to help the Pianco Family.” Melissa and Angelina packed up their SUV nearly full and stopped by the very small apartment where the Carvalho-Pianco family is staying temporarily to deliver the donations The family can stay at that apartment for a week and then spend another week at a friend’s house who will be away on vacation But they very much want to find a permanent home “The mom didn’t stop crying she was so overwhelmed and grateful,” Landry said of the reception she and Angelina received when they delivered the donations “And Sofia kept hugging my daughter and me and thanking us,” Landry said “Every day when she gets on the bus she says ‘Good morning.’ She always smiles She’s a beautiful little girl,” Landry said whose parents were both at work when the fire occurred came home from school to find firefighters putting out the blaze Landry didn’t know that when she dropped Sofia off “I just can’t imagine coming home and finding my house burned,” Landry said the community relations facilitator for Taunton Public Schools said community sponsors made it possible for her office to purchase some necessities for the family One teacher who is about the same size as Elisangela donated some of her own clothing “People are wonderful in this city,” Maldonado said Landry said her older daughter Kayla’s former coach when Sousa herself lost everything in a fire it was Landry who stepped up and held a fundraiser for her So when the coach saw Landry’s post about Monday’s fire she went out and bought a brand new blanket for Sofia who has been a school bus driver for 12 years said in the past when students have gotten on the bus in the winter with no jackets she has gone out and bought coats for them She said it’s not just teachers who form a bond with their students but school bus drivers do as well “You’re the first one they see every morning Your impression stays with them throughout the day just taking the time to say ‘good-bye’ to them means a lot,” Landry said Landry said her daughter Angelina was so proud to have been able to help and struck up a fast friendship with Sofia Angelina said she would like to take Sofia to a trampoline park so they could just jump around and have fun Angelina got to see first-hand how good it feels to make the extra effort to help others in a time of need To assist the Carvalho-Pianco family visit their GoFundMe page or call Taunton Public Schools Community Relations Facilitator Carmen Maldonado at 508-738-0289 Greg Galligan walked out on the porch of a Prospect Street home after firefighters knocked down the blaze inside he saw a child standing alone in the driveway most of her clothing and belongings destroyed Taunton firefighters did their part making quick work of extinguishing the fire that broke out on the second floor of a multi-family home on Prospect Street on Monday “She can go shopping for new things and hopefully put the memory of what happened behind her,” Galligan said Tuesday Galligan led the effort to collect donations for Sofia and on Friday he and his fellow firefighters presented Sofia with a pair of new shoes and $1,100 in gift cards so she could replace her lost belongings He said Sofia was very excited and thankful for the donations Many of the firefighters who donated had been on scene at the Prospect Street fire Elisangela Pianco and her husband Paulo Carvalho were among at least six people displaced by the fire The Carvalho-Pianco family’s apartment sustained the most direct fire damage Since the blaze there has been an outpouring of support for the family Sofia’s school bus driver Melissa Landry of Taunton led the effort to collect donations and started a GoFundMe page “Taunton comes together to help the Pianco Family,” which had raised more than $900 as of Tuesday afternoon People have showed so much love and support,” Landry said Tuesday The Carvalho-Pianco family has already found a new apartment thanks to a former neighbor of Landry’s who reached out when she heard about the fire They moved into the new apartment Saturday and are getting settled in Landry said the donations of clothes and toiletries poured in when she first posted about the family’s plight shortly after the fire on her personal Facebook page The Liberty and Union Alehouse on Trescott Street donated a gift certificate so the Pianco family could enjoy a meal out at this stressful time and Taunton Federal Credit Union contributed $250 to the GoFundMe campaign People seemed to want the family to know they aren’t alone in the wake of the fire and are looking for ways to help lift that burden She was particularly struck by a donation left on her bus this week a bag of new items with a “beautiful card.” The person expressly said he or she wanted to remain anonymous “It said it touched them what I was doing and they wanted to help,” Landry said Galligan said the fire department doesn’t take up collections among its members often It has happened a handful of times that he can recall they have to keep a distance from the trauma fire can cause in order to be able to do the job at hand But there are times when helping out however “small a gesture” just feels like the right thing to do and cuts through that distance He recalled an instance when he and firefighter Cynthia Zanghi responded to a minor medical call the week before Christmas at the home of a family of five The firefighters “put together a Christmas” for that family who were “very appreciative” and just needed “a bump up in life,” Galligan said It’s a good place to work,” Galligan said.