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Support Lisa's Journey to Rebuild Otherside Ink

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This GoFundMe is a labor of love to help a fiercely stubborn, self-sufficient mother and independent business owner of Otherside Ink located in Punta Gorda, Florida. Lisa Schmoldt.

On September 27, 2024, Lisa received devastating news as Hurricane Helene barreled towards a Big Bend landfall. The projected storm surge up the west coast was not just a warning. It quickly became evident that the landfall zone was not going to be Helene’s only story.

Around 8 pm, she became aware that her life's work, her business, and the source of her livelihood was inundated by over 4 feet of storm surge water being pushed in from the sea towards the Peace River.

All she had was an image captured from the security camera on the front of the building showing the water levels at the business across the street, knowing we had not yet reached high tide. Safe in her home, she expressed her dismay over social media, helpless to do anything but await the morning.

Today, her worries were confirmed. With a long road ahead after mucking out, the landscape has now become survival until she can provide for herself again.

Insurance, especially for small independent business owners, is a long process. She will have vital expenses needing to be covered to survive and forge ahead that will not wait for the insurance process.

At the forefront now is major electrical work and a hot water heater that has exploded.

At the urging of a few friends, she has allowed me to set up this GoFundMe on her behalf, not as a sign of weakness, but the sheer determination to survive.

Many of you in the tattoo community know Lisa. Many of you in the Ears with Feet community also know Lisa, if not personally, then in passing. Some of you have even been mothered and nurtured by her along the way, at concerts, and become lifelong friends in our collective taxi rides. Many more wear her deeply personal and beautiful art on their skin.

Lisa is not just an artist but a beautiful soul. I've known her for over 20 years, My name is Jessica Sweeney, Lisa is my friend and has beenasounding board and inspiration to me for as long as I've known her. God willing I









hope to be kicking around with her when we are truly old ladies who still rock.

If you don't know Lisa's artistic capabilities, she specializes in cover-ups and large-scale painterly projects, creating healing art for women who have faced mastectomies, allowing pride and love to return to women who have survived cancer.

Her shop, Otherside Ink, is located in the Laishley Park area of Punta Gorda, where Charlotte Harbor meets the Peace River.



Tattooing locally as well as globally for close to 30 years now, Lisa has forged a solid reputation here locally and within the tattoo industry as a whole. Working diligently on the convention circuit and having been featured in industry publications, Lisa has made a name for herself as a very boisterous artisan who works in a painterly style with a palette of imagination.

Let's remind Lisa that sometimes we all get by with a little help from our friends, fellow artists, and even friends of friends. Sharing is caring; it is not a handout but many collective hands up. It's strength. It's the best in us, the core of our humanity.

Every dollar helps. No amount is too small. If GoFundMe is not your thing, Venmo and CashApp may also be used. Just reach out and I'll supply her details.

Lisa wants us to know that any money raised above he still undetermined final need budget will be donated to RAINN.

Every penny outside of fees will go directly to Lisa. I will continue to update and share Lisa’s thanks so she can remain focused on cleanup, salvage, and adjusting to what is hopefully just a temporary new normal.

Thank you in advance for your kind assistance. Sharing is also caring. If money is tight, please consider helping to share this fundraiser forward.

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    Jessica Sweeney
    Organizer
    Punta Gorda, FL

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