Attorney Fees for Child Custody

My college roommate and one of my very good friends, Amoreena, has been living in what most of us would consider a nightmare. She has been living as a single mother of her two children, Ezekiel (10) and Zoey (8), in a home that was once owned by her and her now ex-husband, Josh. They were married for over 10 years, all the while she was being abused mentally and verbally; until it finally turned physical in several different instances when she realized she had had enough. She has a permanent restraining order against him, and his mother was the go between for he and the kids. She was able to represent herself through the divorce, and was working on getting a parenting plan established- of which the kids would be allowed to see Josh for 2 weeks every summer. Since summer was almost over, he had asked if she would be willing to let him have 2 weeks with them, as that is what would have been in the parenting plan had it been fully legalized. She agreed, and he has yet to return them since. He has had them hostage from her since May, with no communication on how they are; she can't talk to them or see them, and she cannot drive to where he is because he and his mother are refusing to let her know where they are. She has called the police and all possible authorities, but because the parenting plan was not finalized he has just as much of a right to them as she does in the eyes of the state and they cannot do anything about it. She calls regularly for child well being checks so she at least knows that they are safe physically. As to their mental health, being torn away from their mother with zero contact cannot be easy for them, and who knows what lies are being said about her in the interim.  She has a full time job, and now a new apartment due to the house being in foreclosure. She has assistance from every possible source, and is currently using her own funds to move into the new apartment suitable for her and her kids, ready for when she can get them back. Her court date without representation is not set until December, which means Josh will legally be able to keep her kids from her until then. She has found and spoken to the best attorney available in the area, and he has a stellar track record and knows he can help her- but of course being the best comes at a price- $3500. He will take a $500 retainer to basically assure that he will not be hired by Josh, but he will not start any actual work on her case until his fee of $3500 is paid in full (the $500 mentioned will apply towards that full bill). She will be contributing what she can towards this attorney's fee, but without some help she will not be able to afford the entire bill. I am asking that we come together to help her hire the best attorney available to her, in order to quickly regain her children for their safety. I would love to be able to get this full amount covered for her, so she doesn't have to worry or stress about what might be happening with her children, and she can get them back into a safe, stable home as quickly as possible. She was humbled that I was even going to do this for her, and I know she is beyond grateful for anything and everything we can do, whether it's financial help or prayers she deserves it. She is a hardworking woman and a great mom to her kids, she spends her working hours helping people as a counselor and her free time revolves around her kids.