Trout Nation, The Phillips Family Needs You!

Hey everybody! Today, Alisha comes to you with a plea for help for her friends:

Hello, fellow denizens of the Trout Nation! My name is Alisha, and Jenny has graciously agreed to lend me space on her blog in the name of charity. Hail the Trout!

Now with the serious: This past Sunday, some dear friends of mine lost their house in a fire. Jamie, Ivan, and daughters Laci and Jaylie were just enjoying some barbeque and watching football with a group of friends … when a faulty propane tank set the house ablaze. Thankfully, everyone got out safely (Ivan was burned, but he’s okay). The fire fighters were able to rescue the family pets (yay!) and put the blaze out, but not before severe damage was done to the house, rendering it uninhabitable. Between heat, smoke, and water damage, most of the family’s belongings were destroyed as well.

I feel like shaking my fist at the gods and screaming, because it makes me so angry that this happened to THIS family – they are just the best kind of people, truly the kind of friends you can always count on, and I want to help them get back on their feet! To that end, I’m asking people to visit their online fundraiser at Give Forward (https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/khq5/the-phillips-family-fire-recovery-fund). There are more details there about the fire and also what the funds will be used for.

I know a lot of us are struggling financially and there are always a lot of causes to give to, so I appreciate Jenny giving me this blog space for my friends. If you can donate any amount, know it’s going to truly deserving people. Whether you can donate or not, please share the link if you can. Thank you!

Some of you may remember way, way back in the day when we raised $1,000.00 to help out Lin and Frank. At the time, I’d only made plans to recap the first 50 Shades of Grey book, but I promised that if we raised that $1K, I would recap the second two. And I made good on that promise. So today, I’m pledging that if the Phillips make their $5,000.00 goal, when the published version of After comes out in October, I will recap it.

If the idea of After recaps appeals to you, spread that link far and wide. If you can, maybe donate a little. For a family who’s lost everything, $5,000.00 is just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s help the Phillips family get back on their feet.