RICHMOND, Va. — A couple who lost their home after a devastating fire swept through Richmond's Shockoe Bottom is starting over with help from an unexpected friend.
Kimberly and Clarissa Silcox are moving into a new place after flames forced them out of their previous home. The couple received furniture and household items from Lyle Collins, a man they met through a story on CBS 6.
The couple said they were thrilled to have a place to put their clothes.
"No more living out of a laundry basket," Clarissa Silcox said.
The furniture once belonged to Collins' mother, who passed away earlier this year. After connecting with the couple through the news story, he decided to donate what he could to their new home.
"I'm a church-going person I do believe God put me in the right place at the right time," Collins said. "I sent them some pictures of the stuff and they were very happy to receive it."
On Saturday, the Silcoxes picked up the furniture with help from family members and carefully loaded each piece into a moving van.
"Being able to come up from something and be stronger for it," Kimberly Silcox said.
WATCH: Cause of Shockoe Bottom fire revealed a week after seven people displaced from 3 apartments
After securing a new place to live earlier in the week, Collins connected the couple with his Great and Mighty Things thrift store, a ministry run through the Beaverdam Baptist Church on Thursday.
"We were able to get some household items, some cookware, and a hand mixer. Things like that," Clarissa Silcox said.
But Collins didn't stop with just furniture. During their visit to the thrift store, Collins said he overheard Clarissa say how nice it would be to have a sewing machine again after losing theirs in the Shockoe fire. In response, Collins also brought sewing supplies.
"She was like, 'Man, I wish I had a sewing machine,' and he just overheard it," Kimberly Silcox said.
Collins explained, "My wife actually put together the sewing machine, the sewing kits and some fabric and stuff for them. That's another thing that we added to the pile."
The sewing machine holds special meaning for Clarissa Silcox. "And with our grandson being born this November, I'm just really thrilled to be able to finish that quilt and make his first little teddy bear," she said.
Collins says that members of Beaverdam Baptist also chipped in to buy Clarissa and Kimberly a brand-new microwave. Collins and his wife also purchased $200 in Walmart gift cards to help the couple with other items they may need as they settle in to their new home.
Collins, who lives in Beaverdam, gave these gifts freely with just one condition.
"And all I ask for is that you pass it on," Collins told the couple.
The unexpected friendship formed through difficult circumstances has become meaningful to both parties.
"It was a very unfortunate event that led us to meet Lyle, but I think that friendship is going to be one that will last for a really long time," Clarissa Silcox said.
"I'm a teddy bear with a rough skin you might say, but things like that [the fire] get to me because though my sister, myself, and my mom who passed away, they were able to put a lot of good things to use and it's just heartfelt," Collins said.
For Collins, helping others is simply part of who he is.
"For me it's part of my lifestyle, it's been that way for years and I don't plan on ending it," Collins said.
While the donations may seem modest, they provide an important fresh start for the couple.
"And that's what makes my day is that they are actually going to have a good restart on life," Collins said.
The Silcoxes are grateful for the kindness they've received during this difficult time.
"We try to lift our life as much as we can in letting people know that there are still kind people in this world," they said.
WATCH: Hanover man turns grief into blessing for newlyweds who lost everything in fire
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