Looting Recovery Fund
Donation protected
MY COUSIN AND HIS PARTNER LOST EVERYTHING THEY HAVE WORKED FOR IN ONE DAY. The horrific murder of George Floyd at the merciless hands of police officers has rocked our country to its core. In a moment of unity, so many Angelenos took to the streets to demand justice and to unite with our Black community to call upon our government and leadership to change the inherent racism our fellow humans have endured. In these moment of solidarity however, criminals and opportunists took to the streets looting thousands of businesses, robbing business owners of their livelihood.
It is with a heavy heart that I write that my cousin Aviad Gozlan, and his partner were one of the unfortunate small business owners that lost EVERYTHING they have worked for. Aviad and I are children of immigrant parents that came to the USA, like other immigrants, with a hope for a better future for us, their children. We grew up as neighbors, watching our parents working tirelessly while raising us into upstanding citizens teaching us the value of hard work. Since 2008 Aviad has poured his entire life savings into creating a business with an eye toward wellness and health, utilizing farm to shelf products which support local farmers. Eventually, after many iterations Aviad created a product that targets an array of health issues.
As the COVID 19 pandemic unfolded and retail stores were forced to shutter their doors, Aviad lost his primary source of income his Downtown Los Angeles store which was generating 93% of his business. With a minimal online presence, the business suffered like many other small businesses have over the past two and half months.
Literally ONE day after retail was permitted to reopen, Aviad's store was viciously looted, robbed, and stripped of over $330,000 dollars worth of his formulated, branded products. He was looted again! Twice within two days!!!!!! And when there was no product left to take, these criminals broke into safes, took TVs, iPads, and made sure to destroy every material thing they could touch. The store is unrecognizable. Sadly, when the store had opened, Aviad and his partner were unable to insure the products themselves but only the physical build-out, so there is coverage for this.
First a widespread pandemic and now this; I just don't know how he is going to recover from this massive financial disaster. While this should be a time to honor and uplift our Black community, for some families this has become an unimaginable nightmare that they can't wake up from.
Please help me raise some money on his behalf to recover, every dollar counts. We are a community that relies on each other in times of need. Now is that time.
He was interviewed on BBC following this incident. Link attached.
Blis DTLA 752 South Olive Street Los Angeles, CA 90014
It is with a heavy heart that I write that my cousin Aviad Gozlan, and his partner were one of the unfortunate small business owners that lost EVERYTHING they have worked for. Aviad and I are children of immigrant parents that came to the USA, like other immigrants, with a hope for a better future for us, their children. We grew up as neighbors, watching our parents working tirelessly while raising us into upstanding citizens teaching us the value of hard work. Since 2008 Aviad has poured his entire life savings into creating a business with an eye toward wellness and health, utilizing farm to shelf products which support local farmers. Eventually, after many iterations Aviad created a product that targets an array of health issues.
As the COVID 19 pandemic unfolded and retail stores were forced to shutter their doors, Aviad lost his primary source of income his Downtown Los Angeles store which was generating 93% of his business. With a minimal online presence, the business suffered like many other small businesses have over the past two and half months.
Literally ONE day after retail was permitted to reopen, Aviad's store was viciously looted, robbed, and stripped of over $330,000 dollars worth of his formulated, branded products. He was looted again! Twice within two days!!!!!! And when there was no product left to take, these criminals broke into safes, took TVs, iPads, and made sure to destroy every material thing they could touch. The store is unrecognizable. Sadly, when the store had opened, Aviad and his partner were unable to insure the products themselves but only the physical build-out, so there is coverage for this.
First a widespread pandemic and now this; I just don't know how he is going to recover from this massive financial disaster. While this should be a time to honor and uplift our Black community, for some families this has become an unimaginable nightmare that they can't wake up from.
Please help me raise some money on his behalf to recover, every dollar counts. We are a community that relies on each other in times of need. Now is that time.
He was interviewed on BBC following this incident. Link attached.
Blis DTLA 752 South Olive Street Los Angeles, CA 90014
Organizer
Adi Genish
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
