My mom needs some help.

Hi. My name is Russell and I am fundraising on behalf of my mom who is 79 years old.

On July 4, someone in my mom's neighborhood shot off illegal fireworks near her home and business. The investigation concluded today, and it was determined that these fireworks were the cause of a devastating fire on her property which housed rental storage units. (The culprits are unknown.)

16 firetrucks were dispatched, and it took more than 24 hours to put out the fire that spread to several buildings and vehicles.

She is still reeling from the wreckage and just beginning to come to terms with the loss of property and income.

This wasn't some fancy storage facility. These were units converted from old chicken barns back when that was the kind of thing you did when raising chickens and eggs went bust.

And mom's renters were all long-time customers turned friends, some dating back more than 30 years. She was wrecked to have to call them to tell them what had happened.

My mom is a very proud person and asks for nothing from anyone. But now she is tasked with the monumental job of clearing away the damage and debris, with precious few resources to do so. In trying to come up with an idea of how to move through this, I suggested she reach out to the greater community for a hand. Her immediate response was "No." Knowing how hard this is for her, I gave her a few days to think about it. When she called back, she quietly gave her OK.

The funds will be used to have the gutted buildings and contents removed. She has been told that the cost to remediate could be well north of the initial amount I'm asking for on her behalf. But I needed a place to start.

Thanks for hearing me out. And thanks for helping my mom. From the bottom of both of our hearts.