From Shawn & Maddy:

Language is typically my strong suit, but it’s hard to find the words lately. To start with the facts: While we were visiting family on Sunday, October 18, 2026, a fire destroyed our home. Fire crews responded quickly, and no one was injured, but we suffered extensive damage to our apartment resulting in it being uninhabitable.

It’s difficult to quantify loss, of any kind, but there’s a unique challenge in sifting through depths of ash, insulation, and charred rafters, and ascertaining what it is that you emerged with. For us, we were lucky to recover some precious family photos, jewelry, books, and clothing, but by and large we lost most that we’d purchased with hard-to-come-by disposable income over the last several years of our lives.

Like many people trying to make ends meet, we had made the difficult decision to cut certain expenses, including renters insurance. Without that coverage, we’re now facing the full financial responsibility of rebuilding.

We are so grateful for the immediate support we received from close friends, colleagues and family members, who helped us relocate in the immediate aftermath, recover items from the ravaged apartment, feed and clothe ourselves, and heal emotionally.

But we are now facing a heavy financial burden in replacing the items necessary for us to continue living, doing the work we love, and contributing to the communities that we cherish in the Pittsburgh music, events, cycling, and physical rehabilitation spaces we are a part of. And we are asking for help as we get back on our feet.

Our ask amount is roughly half of our loss estimation, with priority given to bedding, furniture, cookware, and other essentials of daily living.

At times in this process, we have realized that much of the depth and impact of a loss of this nature stems not from the past or the things you owned, but from the future you were planning. The one that was almost just in reach, if just a few things went your way.

We are so appreciative of the support we’ve received thus far, material, emotional, edible, et cetera. We’ve been thoughtful about requests for help as we worked to calculate the loss and done our best to understand and accept it as well. Now we ask for whatever you can offer to help us recover from this misfortune. If you’re able to contribute, we are grateful. If you’re not, sharing this fundraiser or simply keeping us in your thoughts means just as much.