The fundraiser is to help two people who have always helped others, and have now lost everything.

One is a retired police officer, and the other is a retired paramedic.

They are both stubbornly independent people who have always been there for others.

They never ask for anything from anyone, but are always first to help out.

They have been good friends to me for 25 years.

I watched them build their home in the wilderness at Factor Lake. They built from scratch and cheerfully left the city to build their life there, one careful construction project at a time. Brenda Makenzi is disabled, so many things in the build had to be custom. For the last seven years friends watched the progress on facebook. A shed, a workshop, a completely modified and added-to house, a series of bird feeders and a free lending library.

Both are on the board of Pictograph Community Arts. They ran workshops and Stacey taught classes to get the program back on its feet. They fundraised to get a Mobile art kit for events. They also provided the storage for the programs supplies, and all of that was burnt in the fire. (There is a separate community fundraiser going for that program).

Stacey is an accomplished artist, and Brenda Makenzi has been writing books (under a pseudonym) for years.

Brenda Makenzi and Stacey are not as young as they were when they first built their place.

There is nothing left.

Nothing.

Not a cup from the kitchen, a pair of socks

Not a painting or drawing or photograph made by Stacey. none of her pens, or paints, not a toque or a pair of work gloves.'s. Makenzi's laptop and back up files are gone. Her own copies of her own books are ash.

They are stubborn, they resisted the idea of this fundraiser initially. They do have insurance, which will replace the basics eventually. In the meantime, they are rapidly evaporating their life's savings.

They are very good people, and an asset to their community.

Times are tough right now, everyone is feeling the financial pinch... but we have places to live. I have a pillow tonight. They have nothing.

The funds will be used at their discretion...to replace the aids to daily living that Brenda Makenzi needs, the art supplies, the things that insurance doesn't cover (including the fire pump that didn't make it.) They are very conservative people. They will use it wisely

It could have been worse, it could have hit in the middle of the night and then maybe they wouldn't have even made it out.