Help Michael recover from the Marshall Fire

Hi all, we're starting this Go Fund Me to help our dear friend Michael Baird, who lost his apartment and everything he owns in the catastrophic Marshall Fire in Boulder County, CO. You may know him as a joyful contra dancer or an upbeat personal fitness trainer working in Boulder, Louisville and Lafayette, CO.

 

All he had with him were the clothes on his back, his wallet, and his car. His Louisville apartment building is now ashes and rubble - nothing survived. Unfortunately, he did not have renter's insurance and this is a huge financial and emotional blow for him.

 

100% of these funds (minus GoFundMe's fees) will go directly to Michael, to help replace at least some of his lost clothes and belongings. We know there were hundreds of others impacted in a similar way. Thank you for considering this and other opportunities to donate. <3

Added for GoFundMe: I'm Christa Torrens, a fellow contra dancer and close friend of Michael's. I live in Lafayette, CO. Lisa Archer, another contra dancer and close friend of Michael's, is also on this Fundraising Team and lives in Longmont, CO.   Michael's initial focus has been meeting immediate needs: getting warm clothes, winter boots, outdoor gear, pantry staples, a coffee maker… He’ll continue to do this over the next weeks. Once he has found his own longer-term space, he’ll start replacing furniture, linens, kitchen items, etc.  He is planning to post an update soon. 

 

Michael peering into what used to be his basement storage unit, below his 2nd floor apartment

 

 

 

Brushing off the remains of his motorcycle

 

 

His entire building is gone, and so is the one across from his; others in the complex are damaged; while (fortunately!) yet others are untouched. The fire was hot and utterly destructive where it did catch and burn.

 

 

It's hard to tell, but this is the remains of a neighbor's car