Help Nat & Renae after the floods

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone's generosity the GoFundMe hit its $5000 target in a matter of days! Nat & Renae are just floored by this, so THANK YOU to everyone for your lovely words & humble generosity! 

 

Hi, my name is Gabi, and I'm fundraising for my friends - Nat & Renae. They have worked their guts off to build an amazing family-run small business in Lismore, the home audio store, Living Entertainment North Coast.

 

As you may have already seen in the news footage, floods have devastated Lismore this week. The community is still reeling & in the wake of this disaster, my friends Nat & Renae desperately need your help. Because insurance companies won't insure anyone in Lismore for floods, Nat & Renae have lost EVERYTHING in their business. We are talking well over $400k worth of gear that was destroyed within hours. Every single extra dollar that has ever been earned in Nat's career has been reinvested into this business. This is the only asset this family has.

 

Ahead of Nat & Renae is a mammoth clean-up task. As the floodwaters subside, these guys need to prepare to head back into the Lismore CBD to assess the damage & begin the painful process & clean up their life's work. Their beloved hi-fi shop.

 

 

Before the floods hit, in preparation, family, friends & locals headed into the Lismore CBD to help retail stores move stock & furniture into the higher mezzanine levels of the retail spaces to save them from the rising floodwaters. For some context, floods are typical of the Lismore area, and the local community is well-versed in managing it. They always rally when they know there is the potential for another surge. This is precisely why Nat & Renae chose the retail space they are in. It had an excellent mezzanine. Big enough to house all of their display & retail stock if they ever needed it.

 

When Nat left the store on Sunday evening, he believed he had done everything he could to ensure his store was prepared & his retail stock was safe. Leaving it in a position across two mezzanine levels above the store. Sadly, unexpected news broke early Monday morning that those levels had gone well above the previous flood record by another 3 metres! So the entire store has been submerged, and all stock is lost.

 

The harsh reality that not many realise is that insurance companies are unwilling to insure any business in Lismore. So, unlike previous floods where the stock was saved on higher ground, every small business in Lismore has lost everything this time around.

 

 

 

This is a picture of the store this afternoon as the water subsides. The level at peak was 1 metre above that awning signage.

 

The goal of the money raised is to assist Nat & Renae in the clean up & if they can muster the courage to continue, we would also like to raise enough to revive their beloved hi-fi shop.

 

Feel free to leave any encouraging messages here too. I know they have been overwhelmed by your love & support so much already. But anything to boost the morale is very welcome.