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Siblings create fundraiser to help California wildfire victims

By Cameron Lobley

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    SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) — A South Portland brother-sister duo is fundraising to help victims affected by wildfires in California.

Oliver (9) and Maya (5) Ochsenbein say they got the idea for a fundraiser after seeing footage of the wildfire destruction on TV.

“We were watching football, and we saw a Red Cross commercial, and it showed the fires,” says Oliver. “It made us very, very sad, and we really wanted to donate.”

“We saw a video on TV, and it was a big mountain with fire right next to it,” says Maya.

The siblings are raising money for the California Community Foundation, which is helping provide immediate relief and restoring destroyed homes.

Their parents, Nicki and David, say they hope the fundraiser will help inspire kids like Oliver and Maya who are looking to do some good.

“I remember Oliver specifically saying ‘what can a kid do?'” says David. “And that’s what made us kind of start to think outside the box and really empower both of them to effect some change and show that with a little bit of effort sometimes you can impact some lives.”

They also say the community’s outpouring of support has been amazing to see.

“We started with a really low goal of $200,” says Nicki. “And every day we hit the goal. So, every day Oliver would post an update and we’d up it a little more.”

As of Sunday, the goal for the fundraiser was brought up to $2,000.

Fundraising isn’t the only way the family plans on helping those affected by the wildfires.

“Me and my school counselor talked about some stuff we can do in class, like making cards for the firefighters and putting up posters,” says Oliver.

Those looking to help Maya and Oliver’s efforts can donate at gofundme.com/f/help-oliver-and-maya-aid-california-families

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