MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A family of seven was gifted a shopping spree on Friday after a house fire destroyed their home and belongings early Wednesday morning.

The opportunity was part of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County’s Pay It Forward campaign meant to help people in need in the Madison community.

Mario Smith’s teenage kids picked out new clothes, coats and shoes at a time when the fire still doesn’t feel real.

“It feels like it’s not reality,” Mario Smith said. “Time to time, you think about what you’ve lost. All the sentimental value that goes along with it.”

The timing of the blaze during the holiday season is something weighing on Smith.

“You hear the term ‘tis the season to be giving’ and all that and you think, ‘eh well, you know, maybe,’” he said. “But it really is.

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