Replace a Marine's broken bass

A few days ago I was contacted by a local bass teacher who had a bass belonging to a former student of his. Once I saw the bass I knew the repairs would be very expensive and would be more than the bass is worth.
Before I could say anything the teacher stopped me and told me this,
This bass belongs to a former student of mine, he is a marine who has just returned from bootcamp and now is in the reserves,  to see his bass was damaged. He is still looking for a job but has managed to come up with some money to fix his bass. Can you help us out?
I knew at that point I couldn't say no. I told him to thank him for his service and that I'll do my best.
At this point I'm trying to raise money to replace this bass with the same model bass from the same maker.
I know once we present the Marine with his new bass it will show him how loved he is and how much we thank him for his service.