Iona's trip to see Halifax Mermaids
Donation protected
Help Mermaid Iona make a trip from Seattle to Halifax NS to see Raina and the Halifax Mermaids!
Raina here. I've known Iona for almost a decade now. She is one of the founding members of the mermaid community . She started by finding mers and getting them networking back in the days of myspace and seatails! Then when it made sense she paired up with another mer and launched mer yuku, and then mernetwork. All of these ventures came out of pocket and time until the community got to a more self sustaining place.
For those of us who have been in the mermaid community for a long time online, it's likely you haven't been to a mermaidy corner of the web where Iona hasn't helped out. For those of you who are new to the mermaid world; a huge amount of the resources out there for mers are directly credited to Iona.
I have watched Iona help mermaid after mermaid, and user after user get their mermaid career or their mermaid fun going.
What you may not know is Iona struggles with a multitude of health and mental health issues including but not limited to Interstistial Cystitis (an illness we both share that rates higher than end stage cancer on the pain scale), sleep disorders, IBS, Immune issues, and several others. What does this mean? She's in pain and sick... a lot. And when we're in pain and sick, we get a little sad, and we feel a little alone. Some times... We feel a bit more than a little of it. Throw in any interpersonal issues and you can feel like you're up against a mountain. Right now? She's feeling pretty bad... and she's been in pain for a while now. Iona is actually unable to work a regular job due to her illnesses. She has a very limited income. Yet she still spends what little she has to help the mer community.
Iona has given so much to the community. Despite all of these issues she will constantly help any mermaid, even when they're brand new. She'll put aside her own issues and emergencies to help someone else with theirs. She is incredibly kind and thoughtful. She's donated and shared other mer campaigns, and she's sent people gifts and organized online events, local meet ups, and been a key participant is past cons. This is the woman who made sure you didn't get scammed, knew how to fix your tail, knew all the discount codes, made sure you knew where to find everything you needed to get started, and cheered you on when you went for your first swim, got your first gig, or landed in the newspaper.
I'd love to see our mermaid community give back to someone who has given so much. We're looking to cover the flight and cost of shipping her tail. Everything else (accomodations, food, transportation etc) the Halifax Mermaids will be able to accomodate.
Why send Iona to Canada of all places? Well aside from the fact that Raina and Iona have wanted to meet in person for so long and keep missing each other; the fact is... there aren't many people dealing with the multitude of health issues we both share. It can be very validating to a person to know someone else in person who experiences what they go through. It can be uplifting, inspiring, and we really just want to give her a chance to relax and be taken care of by other mermaids.
We plan on showing Iona around, doing some of the culturual musts, along with spending time with kind mermaids, going for swims, taking photos, and really just pampering her. We're going to go slow and work around her pain, and accomodate her need for rest.
Our goal is to cover the cost of the flight and tail shipping, but if we happen to raise a bit more then the extra will be used to take Iona to dinner and pay for some excursions.
The flight we're looking for would be from August 11th to the 21st.
Every little bit helps. Let's bring this mermaid to the Great White North
This is a way to say THANK YOU IONA FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE for all the paths youve forged for others, for all the help, love, support, and time!
-Raina
Raina here. I've known Iona for almost a decade now. She is one of the founding members of the mermaid community . She started by finding mers and getting them networking back in the days of myspace and seatails! Then when it made sense she paired up with another mer and launched mer yuku, and then mernetwork. All of these ventures came out of pocket and time until the community got to a more self sustaining place.
For those of us who have been in the mermaid community for a long time online, it's likely you haven't been to a mermaidy corner of the web where Iona hasn't helped out. For those of you who are new to the mermaid world; a huge amount of the resources out there for mers are directly credited to Iona.
I have watched Iona help mermaid after mermaid, and user after user get their mermaid career or their mermaid fun going.
What you may not know is Iona struggles with a multitude of health and mental health issues including but not limited to Interstistial Cystitis (an illness we both share that rates higher than end stage cancer on the pain scale), sleep disorders, IBS, Immune issues, and several others. What does this mean? She's in pain and sick... a lot. And when we're in pain and sick, we get a little sad, and we feel a little alone. Some times... We feel a bit more than a little of it. Throw in any interpersonal issues and you can feel like you're up against a mountain. Right now? She's feeling pretty bad... and she's been in pain for a while now. Iona is actually unable to work a regular job due to her illnesses. She has a very limited income. Yet she still spends what little she has to help the mer community.
Iona has given so much to the community. Despite all of these issues she will constantly help any mermaid, even when they're brand new. She'll put aside her own issues and emergencies to help someone else with theirs. She is incredibly kind and thoughtful. She's donated and shared other mer campaigns, and she's sent people gifts and organized online events, local meet ups, and been a key participant is past cons. This is the woman who made sure you didn't get scammed, knew how to fix your tail, knew all the discount codes, made sure you knew where to find everything you needed to get started, and cheered you on when you went for your first swim, got your first gig, or landed in the newspaper.
I'd love to see our mermaid community give back to someone who has given so much. We're looking to cover the flight and cost of shipping her tail. Everything else (accomodations, food, transportation etc) the Halifax Mermaids will be able to accomodate.
Why send Iona to Canada of all places? Well aside from the fact that Raina and Iona have wanted to meet in person for so long and keep missing each other; the fact is... there aren't many people dealing with the multitude of health issues we both share. It can be very validating to a person to know someone else in person who experiences what they go through. It can be uplifting, inspiring, and we really just want to give her a chance to relax and be taken care of by other mermaids.
We plan on showing Iona around, doing some of the culturual musts, along with spending time with kind mermaids, going for swims, taking photos, and really just pampering her. We're going to go slow and work around her pain, and accomodate her need for rest.
Our goal is to cover the cost of the flight and tail shipping, but if we happen to raise a bit more then the extra will be used to take Iona to dinner and pay for some excursions.
The flight we're looking for would be from August 11th to the 21st.
Every little bit helps. Let's bring this mermaid to the Great White North
This is a way to say THANK YOU IONA FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE for all the paths youve forged for others, for all the help, love, support, and time!
-Raina
Organizer
Kathryn Chaffin
Organizer
Port Orchard, WA