Help Kovacs Family Rebuild After Hurricane Helene

Hi, my name is Candice. My husband Nick and I are asking for help with donations to help rebuild our business. We lost everything during the recent Hurricane Helene in FL. We had built our business from the ground up since 2020. We used all of our savings which was around $100,000 to start this business. And like all businesses it takes time to make that money back plus some. We were slowly starting to see profits in almost the 4years of being open. We owned a thrift store that was 10,000 sq ft. We were able to help alot of people in our community and surrounding areas. We worked very hard 7 days a week for 4 years straight to make a living for ourselves.

Yes, I know people are going to think a thrift store, it's all free... That just is not right. There are a lot of expenses to run a store even if donations come in. We were paying around $25,000 just to keep the operations running, and that was with no employees because we could never afford them. And to lose it all overnight is just devastating, to say the least. We worked so hard to the point neither one of us had personal lives; it was all surrounding running and operating the business to make ends meet. We were determined as a couple to make this work and be successful.

I know most would say, well, you owned a business, collect on your insurance... Well, again, we never could afford the insurance. Down in FL, it was super high. They wanted at one time for flood or hurricane insurance $40,000 up front. No one has that kind of money. Trust me, we were not getting rich even though items were donated, or we wouldn't be working 7 days a week for 4 years straight. We would have had tons of employees so we wouldn't have to work.

Now with losing it all, we want to try to rebuild to save our business and it will be super hard as this was our own personal income as well. We have been through a tremendous amount of stress, personal issues, and health issues throughout the years as well. We are originally from MI and moved down here about 10 years ago. I myself got really sick from toxic mold from an apartment complex and thought I was dying. I was diagnosed with 15 different health issues I will never recover from. We lost everything due to contamination. I was in litigation for over 5 years. They pretty much walked away with murder. I had everything to legally take them down and it just didn't go in my favor. My dogs got sick as well. We had to put one down and the other became paralyzed for the last 5 years of her life. She was my baby and I tried my hardest to take care of her around the clock for over 5 years. I felt absolutely horrible that this happened to them and myself. My life has never been the same and I struggle daily. But I keep moving forward and it just seems like we keep getting kicked back further and further. Life just hasn't been easy for us, but we keep trying to push through.

I know a lot of people have lost so much during this storm and it breaks my heart. Please, if you can find it in your heart to help donate and help us to recover, we would greatly appreciate anything. We currently have a couple of awesome friends/people we have met since opening our store that pretty much have been like family to us. We greatly appreciate them. They have been helping us clear out the store. Everything pretty much has to be thrown out and water is still in the building. Please help us to recover & to help pay our personal bills as we try to rebuild. If you can't donate we completely understand as we are all having tough times. Please share to help us spread our story Thank you Candice.