Just days after a huge blaze lit up downtown Olympia, taking a five-story building with it and damaging a handful of others, hundreds of people have banded together to donate money through GoFundMe pages to support the businesses and families affected.
The United Way of Thurston County also has activated its Emergency Assistance Fund for those impacted by the blaze.
There are at least nine GoFundMe fundraising pages on the website that have been set up by business owners and families seeking relief from the damage caused by the fire on Wednesday.
So far, the donations total more than $90,000 raised for fire relief.
One of the fundraisers is for Olympia resident Devon Woollett and his son, who both lived in an apartment in Woollett's two-story building that was damaged by the fire. According to the fundraiser page, Woollett works for Espresso Parts LLC, and the company said it would match donations up to $3,000.
The fundraiser on Saturday had 321 donations totaling more than $21,800.
There is also a fundraiser page set up for Revival Motors and Coffee Company, a business that was housed in a Capitol Way building that was damaged by the fire.
On the fundraiser page, the owners of the business said their first-floor shop was completely flooded and smoked damaged, with damage to doors, windows and more. They said they're unsure of the condition of coffee shop equipment, motorcycles and other items in the store, and the building is too unstable to enter.
The fundraiser has a set goal of $100,000 and is currently at $37,442 as of Saturday.
There are several other donation pages still up and running, including for CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective, The Ton, Whitney Hammond Hair at Sa Voix Salon, Rudy's Elite Barbershop, Allison Stewart at Sa Voix Salon, Golden Hour Tattoo and Pete Lea's Automotive Medical Center.
Meanwhile, the United Way has partnered with the city of Olympia to collect donations for fire victims. To donate to the Emergency Assistance Fund, go to https://securepayment.link/unitedwayofthurstoncounty/
Those impacted by the fire who need to request assistance should contact Mike Reid, the city's economic development director, at mreid@ci.olympia.wa.us.
"United Way mobilizes the caring power of the community to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in Thurston County," said Chris Wells, the local United Way's executive director. "We will be coordinating and working in partnership with city of Olympia leadership to identify unmet needs and provide rapid financial assistance to meet those needs."
