Branden Tobin & Alberta Wildfire
Donation protected
On May 3, the entire city of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada evacuated as an out of control wildfire spread to their city. By the next day, the majority of the homes there had been completely destroyed.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fort-mcmurray-wildfire-80-000-evacuated-over-out-control-blaze-n567371
https://weather.com/news/news/fort-mcmurray-alberta-canada-fire-updates
I'm Katie Hallahan, and I've started this campaign to help raise funds for Branden and his family. While Branden Tobin has recently learned that, thankfully, his family's home was one of the few not destroyed, the damage done to the area is devastating, and what damage has been done to their home from smoke, water, or other sources in the time they've been gone from it has yet to be determined. The Tobins had to evacuate quickly and will not be allowed back into their home until early June.
https://www.google.org/crisismap/2016-fort-mcmurray-fire
Branden is one of the kindest, sweetest and most genuine and helpful people I've known. I've met him through my company, Phoenix Online Studios , where he's been a volunteer QA tester on a number of our projects: The Silver Lining, Cognition, Moebius: Empire Rising, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition, Quest for Infamy, Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock, The Last Door Season 1, Supreme League of Patriots and Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim. Not only did he dedicate his time and effort towards these projects, he's also worked closely with Robert Holmes from Pinkerton Road and his daughter Raleigh Holmes on projects both professional and personal, including when Raleigh was fighting cancer:
"I met Branden as a part of Phoenix Online, when he was working as a tester on our Pinkerton Road games. It quickly became clear he had a great love and history with Jane's games and my music. As we worked through the games, he often would give wonderful and valuable feedback and help on musical issues. He became a huge fan and friend of The Scarlet Furies, and my daughter Raleigh. His support of her when she was ill with cancer was amazing. He held bake sales at his college to make contributions to her healthcare costs. He has sense created and managed fan sites and other projects for her and I, always giving it everything he possibly can, with love and passion. Raleigh, Jane, and I consider him a true friend, and hope you can help us support him as he has so many of us! "
Branden even went on to start the Raleigh Holmes Fan Club.
"While testing for Cognition, I found Branden almost lurking behind the scenes of our company chatrooms, chipping in quietly. He had wanted to help more with our games but didn’t know how to make his voice heard, so I taught him how to join in and be part of the team, encouraging him to rise above the everyday hustle and bustle and ask for what he needed and for what we needed from him, and he took on the job with gusto. Turned out, we at Phoenix indeed needed him. For instance, I think his dedication to Gabriel Knight in preserving the original’s spirit may have been the strongest of any of us, and that’s saying something in our group! He showed a lot of spirit himself that aided him well in forum support posts and eventually led to his creation and administration of the Raleigh Holmes fan site. So in our time working together, my mentorship of Branden turned into friendship and I’ve found Branden to be a very passionate yet gentle individual with a touch of wit and a lot of gumption. Don’t think Branden being in a wheelchair means he’s handicapped. He’s a freer spirit than most out there, and I hope for him to stay that way." - Wayne Sung, QA Lead, Phoenix Online Studios
To sum it up, Branden is a great guy who has given an incredible amount of support to the adventure gaming community, and now he and his family need our help in return.
While the Tobins have a place to stay, they have lost much to this fire, and any and all donations will help them to recover. We are talking with Branden now and will soon have a list of physical items they need as well--if you're interested in sending some of those, you can send a message through to me through this page.
Thank you!
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fort-mcmurray-wildfire-80-000-evacuated-over-out-control-blaze-n567371
https://weather.com/news/news/fort-mcmurray-alberta-canada-fire-updates
I'm Katie Hallahan, and I've started this campaign to help raise funds for Branden and his family. While Branden Tobin has recently learned that, thankfully, his family's home was one of the few not destroyed, the damage done to the area is devastating, and what damage has been done to their home from smoke, water, or other sources in the time they've been gone from it has yet to be determined. The Tobins had to evacuate quickly and will not be allowed back into their home until early June.
https://www.google.org/crisismap/2016-fort-mcmurray-fire
Branden is one of the kindest, sweetest and most genuine and helpful people I've known. I've met him through my company, Phoenix Online Studios , where he's been a volunteer QA tester on a number of our projects: The Silver Lining, Cognition, Moebius: Empire Rising, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition, Quest for Infamy, Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock, The Last Door Season 1, Supreme League of Patriots and Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim. Not only did he dedicate his time and effort towards these projects, he's also worked closely with Robert Holmes from Pinkerton Road and his daughter Raleigh Holmes on projects both professional and personal, including when Raleigh was fighting cancer:
"I met Branden as a part of Phoenix Online, when he was working as a tester on our Pinkerton Road games. It quickly became clear he had a great love and history with Jane's games and my music. As we worked through the games, he often would give wonderful and valuable feedback and help on musical issues. He became a huge fan and friend of The Scarlet Furies, and my daughter Raleigh. His support of her when she was ill with cancer was amazing. He held bake sales at his college to make contributions to her healthcare costs. He has sense created and managed fan sites and other projects for her and I, always giving it everything he possibly can, with love and passion. Raleigh, Jane, and I consider him a true friend, and hope you can help us support him as he has so many of us! "
Branden even went on to start the Raleigh Holmes Fan Club.
"While testing for Cognition, I found Branden almost lurking behind the scenes of our company chatrooms, chipping in quietly. He had wanted to help more with our games but didn’t know how to make his voice heard, so I taught him how to join in and be part of the team, encouraging him to rise above the everyday hustle and bustle and ask for what he needed and for what we needed from him, and he took on the job with gusto. Turned out, we at Phoenix indeed needed him. For instance, I think his dedication to Gabriel Knight in preserving the original’s spirit may have been the strongest of any of us, and that’s saying something in our group! He showed a lot of spirit himself that aided him well in forum support posts and eventually led to his creation and administration of the Raleigh Holmes fan site. So in our time working together, my mentorship of Branden turned into friendship and I’ve found Branden to be a very passionate yet gentle individual with a touch of wit and a lot of gumption. Don’t think Branden being in a wheelchair means he’s handicapped. He’s a freer spirit than most out there, and I hope for him to stay that way." - Wayne Sung, QA Lead, Phoenix Online Studios
To sum it up, Branden is a great guy who has given an incredible amount of support to the adventure gaming community, and now he and his family need our help in return.
While the Tobins have a place to stay, they have lost much to this fire, and any and all donations will help them to recover. We are talking with Branden now and will soon have a list of physical items they need as well--if you're interested in sending some of those, you can send a message through to me through this page.
Thank you!
Organizer
Katie Hallahan Rahhal
Organizer
Braintree, MA
