On the night of July 25, 2023, while I was visiting my best friends, Lauren and Zach, they lost their apartment to an electrical fire. My son, Aron, who is 6 months old, was asleep in a bedroom alongside Canyon who is 1 year old, and Sequoia who is 4 years old. Luckily, Zach was able to identify the danger before it was too late and grabbed all three children and carried them downstairs and outside to safety. An investigator from the fire department claimed that if it had not been for Zach's quick reaction, the damage would have been catastrophic.

Zach and Lauren, along with their two children, Canyon and Sequoia, are now without a home. They have been staying with family, trying to piece their life back together, but it is difficult for them to work and make ends meet while they are 2 hours away in rural Vermont.

Lauren and Zach made a name for themselves in Burlington, VT by establishing ONTA Martial Art Dojo, which trains hundreds of children and adults in the community and is considered one of the best martial arts studios in Burlington. They are beloved mentors, teachers, and friends to those around them.

They saved my son Aron's life and for that, I am eternally grateful. This is not the first time a parent's intuition has saved a child's life. A little over a year before this fire, Lauren pregnant with Canyon, saved her life by trusting a mother's instinct. Canyon was revived at birth and Aron and I made the trip to Vermont to wish her and Sequoia, a very special birthday.

They have suffered enough and I hope the greater community can come together and help make this a little bit easier because no one deserves it more. The funds will be used to hire movers and assist with move-in costs and allow them to return to Burlington!