Help Owain recover after Jasper Wildfire

Hi, my name is Avery Thomas. I am organizing this GoFundMe for my dad, Owain Thomas. Like many other Jasperites, Owain was evacuated due to the Wildfires that have brought devastation to our community, and it has been confirmed that he lost his home. The apartment building he was living in burnt down, along with all his belongings and unfortunately, he did not have insurance.

Owain has been a longtime resident of Jasper, moving there with his family in 1978. Over the years Jasper has always been the place he could call home. No matter where he was or what was going on, he could always count on Jasper to be his safe place. Here, Owain spent time running the trails and back country camping under the stars, and raised 3 children (me, including my two younger brothers). Owain was given the opportunity to raise his family in the town he was raised in, sharing with us his passion of the outdoors and his love for this community.

My Dad worked for over 15 years at CN, working a job that affected his health to provide for our family. In the past few years, he's had the opportunity to shift his mindset and transform his outlook on life, spending hours in the backcountry and caring for our grandparents. Taking time to drive them to countless appointments and helping them to live independently in their home despite their various health issues and Covid. Along with those responsibilities, he also spent many hours driving my youngest brother across the province on a weekly basis for his hockey.

My father has always been a role model, showing me the meaning of kindness and compassion. He is always willing to help and has a history of going above and beyond helping others during tough times, (see the link below). Let's help him know that there are people behind him as he begins these steps at rebuilding his life. All donations will go directly to Owain. His best estimate is that he lost close to 40 thousand dollars of household and personal items. Some of those items, like all our family photos, are irreplaceable. But other things, the things that make up a home, can be replaced with some help.

My goal is to help my dad get back on his feet and start this next chapter of life.

Donations will go to Owain to help him get by until Jasper is reopened, find a new place to live, pay the first few months of rent and furnish and set up his next place.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-cat-survives-wilds-jasper-1.6205977