Help Diane Rebuild After Tragic Losses

Hello, my name is Cyndi Medina. I grew up in Ventura County, California, and now live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am organizing this GoFundMe for one of my oldest and dearest friends, Diane Hvolka (maiden name Diane Jebb). Diane and I have been close friends since the age of 12; we went to middle school and high school together, and we also attended college together. She has been there for me through more than three decades of friendship, in times of celebration, and in times of grief. She is an amazing, hardworking, and humble woman who has endured unimaginable losses the last two years. So now, it's my turn to step up for Diane.

Diane and I met and grew up together in Camarillo, CA. After completing college and law school, Diane began her career in Los Angeles. Her daughter was born in 2009, and Diane raised her in their Pacific Palisades home. Her daughter loved animals, especially birds, and she was a gifted artist who created amazing works of art and shared many of them with Diane. As with any family, there were ups and downs through the years, but they were together through all of it. In February 2023, Diane's daughter passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, just a few weeks after her 14th birthday. I was there for her funeral, and there are no words that can adequately capture the kind of grief that I saw that day. Ever since then, Diane has been slowly working to pull herself back up and put herself back together, carrying her daughter in her heart as she does her best to move forward.

On the morning of January 7, 2025, Diane came home from a brief errand. It was a windy day, but things were fine at first, until she began to smell smoke. She looked out her window and saw a huge ball of smoke and flames beyond her neighbor's house. She grabbed her dog, Shelby, and her daughter's beloved pet dove, Bob, along with anything that she could fit into a small suitcase. Her daughter's artwork was displayed lovingly throughout the house, but because Diane had literally minutes to evacuate, she was only able to grab one of her daughter's drawings on her way out. Diane, her partner, and their pets made it safely to her parents' home in Camarillo, but they could do nothing else but watch and wait for news to learn the fate of their home. A few days later, she received confirmation that her home, where she had built her family and which held all of her daughter's remaining possessions and artwork, had been completely destroyed by the Palisades Fire.

There is so much heartache and grief in LA right now, and so many people who need help. Thankfully, Diane had a safe place to run to when she had to evacuate, but it is not feasible for her to continue living in her parents' home with her partner, her dog, and her bird, all while trying to work full-time and navigate all of the processes involved in filing insurance claims, working with FEMA, etc. This fire has put her in a very difficult place financially. Like many Californians, Diane lost her fire insurance a few months ago; she was able to obtain a new fire insurance policy, but with the significant costs to insure a home in Southern California these days, she is now extremely under-insured and any payout that she might receive is likely to be severely inadequate to replace all that she has lost. She lost literally everything she owns, other than what she was able to fit into a small suitcase.

Diane plans to use any funds raised from this GoFundMe to help replace the essentials and the property that she lost, and to help pay for alternative housing. I can't do anything to take away all of the emotional pain that she has been through these last two years, but with this GoFundMe, I am hoping to help alleviate some of the financial hardship that she will now have to endure as she starts to work on rebuilding her life yet again.

Thank you for taking the time to read Diane's story. If you are willing and able, please consider making a donation to help support her. If a donation is not possible right now, please keep Diane in your prayers.