Owner and operator of A Slice of Home, Nick Rein, and his parents, who recently collected donations to benefit the family of Leanna Herrera. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

Nick Rein didn’t know Leanna Herrera or her family.

But, in the wake of the 4-year-old’s passing after an accident in front of Fletcher Elementary School in November, Rein knew he had to do something. Rein took action through his business, A Slice of Home, during the week of Thanksgiving by donating a part of the sales from any pizza bought during that week to Herrera’s family, with the community coming out in waves to help continue to support this family in their time of need.

“I live right around the block from where it happened,” Rein said. “I heard the story, and it is absolutely heartbreaking. I have kids, I can’t imagine something like that happening. I drive by the memorial every day on my way to work. I just wanted to do something to show the family the community is behind them.”

Both the local and surrounding communities remain very much behind the Herrera family and are continuing to look for ways to support them in this time, as was shown by the amount of donations A Slice Of Home received. Part of every pizza sold was donated, and Rein said his parents also donated along with a friend from Buffalo who he used to work with at a restaurant there. Some people sent in money through CashApp, and an anonymous donor promised to match whatever amount was made through the pizza donations.

“I just really want to thank the community for doing this,” Rein said. “Everyone is looking for ways to help them, and this gave them a way to do that. I personally want to thank the community.”

While he did not know the family himself, Rein said the reason he opened A Slice Of Home in the first place was to be able to give back to the community, and he wanted to help the Herrera family in any way he could. Almost $1,000 was raised in total during the week donations were being collected. Rein emphasized that this was in no way looking to reflect on or benefit his shop, but was solely to help the family.

“It won’t bring their daughter back, but I just wanted to do something to show the family that everyone is behind them,” Rein said. “No matter what, here, we stand by the community and we help where we can.”

Rein first announced doing the donations through Facebook, and he said the post “blew up” in ways he did not expect. He expressed his appreciation of the community for being willing to help the Herrera family.

“This wasn’t about benefiting the pizzeria at all, we just wanted to do something to help,” Rein said. “The community stepped up and I really appreciate it. It’s nice to see the community and area step up when there is a family in need. It won’t change the outcome of what happened but it lets them know the community has their back, and that means a lot.”