Katie and Ian’s Disaster Relief Fund
Donation protected
Hey everyone, it’s definitely a humbling experience that we are in the position of making a gofundme. The winter storm that passed through Texas hit us pretty hard. ERCOT (the power company) stated that they would be doing rolling blackouts for 10-40 minutes at a time and our apartment didn’t have power for four days. Our apartment was just above or just below 45 degrees and at one point reached as low as 38 degrees. Weather reports did not make it seem like the storm was going to be this serious. Mostly we heard about icy roads and a few inches of snow, nothing that was going to going to leave over 4 million Texans without power or water. All the food we bought the night before the power went out is completely spoiled. Most of our fish died and most of our plants died. It was heartbreaking watching them freeze to death. We consistently wore 3-4 layers of clothes, not changing for 3 days. At night we slept with gloves, scarves, hats, thermal socks, all of our layers on, 8 blankets, and even some curtains on top of us. Even with all of that, we couldn’t sleep until the early hours of the morning it was so cold. We also couldn’t shower for 3 days because the water was so cold in our already freezing apartment. Then our pipes froze and we had no running water. Now that our pipes have thawed, we still don’t have running water. The storm has affected us physically (we had very little food and lost weight) mentally, and financially. We were fortunate enough to find a hotel to stay at for a few nights, but obviously that was a financial hit, especially with the pet fees, because of course we can’t work right now. Our shop is still currently closed due to power and utility issues. Moving to a new state, having a pandemic hit just a few months after, and currently being in the midst of the slow season of our industry had us in a financially difficult position for a while and this has completely pushed us over the edge.
We are currently on our way back to our home state of Florida in an attempt to make some money because we can’t make any right now where we live. Anything that anyone would like to contribute is extremely appreciated. The money will go towards helping us pay our rent (we haven’t been able to work for two weeks), hotel costs, gas, and food.
Thank you to everyone that has reached out looking to help us, that is exactly why we are making this gofundme. We sincerely appreciate any help you can give us. Also consider donating to any mutual aid groups in Texas.
We are currently on our way back to our home state of Florida in an attempt to make some money because we can’t make any right now where we live. Anything that anyone would like to contribute is extremely appreciated. The money will go towards helping us pay our rent (we haven’t been able to work for two weeks), hotel costs, gas, and food.
Thank you to everyone that has reached out looking to help us, that is exactly why we are making this gofundme. We sincerely appreciate any help you can give us. Also consider donating to any mutual aid groups in Texas.
Organizer
Ian Maggard
Organizer
Austin, TX