Help Nich rebuild after devastating burglary

*Edit*

In light of the recent recovery of some of Nich's equipment, we have decided to pause this fundraiser. He will no longer be needing the full amount that this fundraiser was originally set for. We want to send a huge thank-you out to everyone who has donated - you have made such a positive impact and Nich is feeling very hopeful that he will be able to rebuild his studio thanks to your support.

I will post more information as we recieve it.

...

My name is Aimee and I'm fundraising for my friend and business neighbour, Nich Longe, whose brand-new music studio has had to close following a devastating burglary. This fund hopes to recover the monetary losses of the burglary.

I have watched Nich work tirelessly to assist his community with all matter of tech issues at his small family business, Tech Tavern. Nich's passion for music had been on the back burner for years while he and his partner Rebecca grew Tech Tavern into a bustling repair shop.

This last month, Nich had finally been able to create a physical space full of all the equipment he would need to open his passion project, Lair Music Studio.

In his own words:

"In 2023 I made it a goal to launch our second business, Lair Music Studio. Where we would record local musicians and artists to help them amplify their voices and messages to not only everyone who lives here, but to the rest of Canada and beyond. In addition to working with musicians we were also in the midst of growing our capabilities to document the lives and lessons from our elders, individuals who are at the end of their life/dying, or anyone who would like to tell their story. It is our dream to provide an auditory time capsule of a person’s life so they may live on with their loved ones as they can recall, replay, and listen back on the life, lessons, and insights from the person they held so dear.

We just acquired our very own studio space right here in the Lakeside area in mid May 2023. A place we’ve also called home with Tech Tavern since 2020, has now been a place to set a second set of roots for our next chapter.

Just as fast as we were building, we have fallen. I hate to inform you that we have been a victim of a burglary.

On Monday morning June 5th 2023, at 1:34am in our beautiful home base of Lakeside area here in Kenora, our brand new home for the Lair Music Studio was broken into by three unknown individuals. The incident only lasted until 1:42am in which they fled the scene with a myriad of stolen items.

The value of the items stolen is approximately $9,000. They include a camera, camera lens, microphones, a monitor, speakers, headphones, a guitar, recording interfaces, various cords, various dongles, various adapters, an iPad, hard drives, keyboards, mice, and other countless little things that make making music possible.

This has absolutely devastated our ability to operate in any capacity. Without our gear, we can’t do anything. So we’re going to be closing up shop and exiting our space until further notice.

The good news is that no one was hurt. Nothing was vandalized. And as far as I know, I was the only victim. Everything that was stolen can be repurchased or replaced. So it’s not the end of the world at all.

I am a positive person who will never give up on my goals of furthering my influence through helping others live their best lives and sharing their stories. Working with Technology and working with Music are lifelong commitments that will only stop when I die. My determination and ambition has not been diminished."

Nich has made a living from helping others,

now I'm hoping that we can come together to help him rebuild.