Hi everyone,

We’re Michael and Nicole, the owners of Crystal Elevations, a small family-owned crystal and mineral shop in Cornelius, Oregon. Our shop is our family's livelihood, and we've poured years of work, love, and energy into building it.

On August 27, a serious emergency occurred at another business inside the building where our shop is located. During the law-enforcement response, chemical agents were deployed inside the building.

The incident did not happen inside Crystal Elevations. Unfortunately, residue from the chemical agents spread beyond the neighboring business and contaminated our store and merchandise.

For the safety of our customers and our family, we cannot reopen until our space and affected inventory have been properly decontaminated.

We initially believed we would have help.

Shortly after the incident, we were told by the City of Cornelius, which owns the property, that the City would be paying for the cleaning.

That was an enormous relief.

Unfortunately, we later received a call informing us that the City's insurance would not cover the cost of cleaning the products and merchandise inside our store. Their hands were tied with compensating us for these costs. We hold no contempt with the City of Cornelius over this. In fact, we're quite

grateful with their diligence and communication throughout this situation.

We then turned to our own business insurance, hoping our policy would protect us from a situation like this.

We were told that it would not.

According to our insurance provider, the cost of decontaminating our merchandise is not covered. Our lost business income during the closure is not covered. And merchandise that has been damaged or cannot be salvaged is not covered.

This has left our family and our small business facing the financial consequences of an emergency we had absolutely nothing to do with.

We're being left with approximately $17,700 in losses and expenses.

Based on what we currently know, the breakdown is:

• $9,000 — Lost household income while Crystal Elevations is unable to operate normally
• $1,800 — Professional decontamination and cleaning costs that we are now responsible for
• $5,000 — Damaged or unsalvageable merchandise that our insurance has told us will not be reimbursed
• $400 — Rent that continues to be due while our store is affected
• $1,500 — Additional cleaning, restoration, and reopening expenses after the primary decontamination work is completed

Total estimated impact: $17,700

We didn't create the emergency. The chemical agents weren't deployed because of anything that happened at Crystal Elevations. We simply happened to operate a small business nearby.

Yet our doors are affected, our merchandise needs to be cleaned or replaced, our family is losing its income, our rent continues to come due, and we've now been told that neither the property owner's insurance nor our own business insurance will cover many of these losses.

We're effectively being left to absorb the cost ourselves.

And as a small family business, $17,700 isn't a minor unexpected expense. It's devastating.

But we aren't willing to compromise anyone's safety just to reopen faster.

We want Crystal Elevations open again more than anyone.

Every day we're closed or unable to operate normally means lost income for our family. But we're not going to let that financial pressure determine when it's safe for customers to return or when merchandise is safe to handle.

This came at an especially difficult time for our family.

There is another part of our story that we weren't sure whether to share publicly, but it helps explain just how difficult this unexpected closure has been for us.

In June, my wife and business partner, Nicole, was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer. In the short time since then, she has already undergone two surgeries and is currently going through radiation therapy.

We were already navigating one of the most frightening and exhausting periods our family has ever experienced when the August 27 incident happened.

Through Nicole's diagnosis, surgeries, appointments, and treatment, we've done everything we can to keep our lives moving forward and Crystal Elevations running. The shop isn't only our family's source of income—it's something Nicole and I built together, and something that has given us a sense of normalcy and purpose through an incredibly difficult summer.

Then, through absolutely no action of our own, we suddenly found ourselves unable to operate normally and facing thousands of dollars in cleanup costs, damaged merchandise, and lost income—with neither the City's insurance nor our own business insurance covering many of those losses.

Cancer was already enough for one family to deal with at once. We never imagined that just weeks later we'd also be fighting to keep our small business open.

We're sharing this because we want to be honest about why we're asking for help. Right now, our family is carrying more than we can reasonably handle on our own.

If you've ever visited Crystal Elevations, you've become part of our story.

Maybe we've helped you choose your first crystal. Maybe you've brought your friends or family in to look at the minerals. Maybe you've spent an afternoon digging through specimens, found the perfect stone for someone you love, or stopped in just to talk rocks with us.

Maybe our little shop is simply one of those places that makes you happy.

Those moments are why we love what we do.

Asking our customers and community for financial help isn't something we ever imagined we'd have to do. But right now, we genuinely need it.

If you're able to contribute, every dollar will go toward helping our family and Crystal Elevations survive this closure, complete the necessary cleanup, replace damaged merchandise, and get our doors safely open again.

And if you can't donate, sharing this fundraiser is an enormous help. A share costs nothing, but it could put our story in front of someone who wants to help a small local business caught in an extraordinary situation.

We cannot wait for the day when all of this is behind us and we can welcome everyone back into Crystal Elevations.

Thank you for standing behind our family and our magical crystal shop.

With love and gratitude,

Michael & Nicole

Crystal Elevations