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San Diego business hit hard by flooding hosts fundraiser for impacted families

The Feb. 17 fundraiser will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with live music, locally-made food, a silent auction and creations by San Diego Made Factory artists.

SAN DIEGO — There are still so many families who lost everything in last month’s flood that do not have what they need. A local business destroyed by flood waters is having a fundraiser Saturday Feb. 17. Not for itself, but for struggling flood victims in their community. 

When Brittany Wiczek started to see the pictures and hear the stories of people around Logan Heights affected by the January 22nd flood, she knew she had to help. 

“Some of these people are living in their car right now," Wiczek says. "Their hotel vouchers are out. They’re not sure where they’re going to go. Their landlord can’t fix their space and they can’t find another rental in their income brackets. It’s a big mess.” 

Factory Flood Relief Fundraiser

  • Saturday, February 17th 
  • 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
  • Bread and Salt — 1955 Julian Ave, San Diego, 92113 

The event at Bread and Salt will be open to the public and will have live music, food, drinks, along with a raffle and silent auction. They say donations for new underwear, socks and gently used clothing for kids and adults are also encouraged.

Wiczek understands what a mess parts of San Diego are after the storm. The business that she and three other San Diego women started five years ago was also flooded last month. San Diego Made Factory is shared creative work space for local artists and small businesses. Pottery makers, fabric artisens, painters, a woodworker who does custom guitars. 

They all had studios at San Diego Made Factory. Each one is destroyed or heavily damaged. It's going to cost them more than $100,000 to repair the damage from the flood. 

A couple weeks ago Wiczek created a Gofundme to try to raise community support to start rebuilding. Even though they had two insurance policies, neither covered under the "Act of God" clause many insurance policies have. Her GoFundMe post helped the group raise enough money to start the recovery process.  

Wiczek says that success made her want to amplify other flood victims’ GoFundMe campaigns. 

She posted on her Logan Heights and Barrio Logan community pages and told people affected by the flood to let her know. She says she had hundreds of families who reached out to her. 

“I don't think you can see that and not pay it forward some way," she says. "We lost a business but these people lost their homes. They have babies and they're living in their cars.” 

 

WATCH RELATED: San Diego Made Factory struggles to recover from severe water damage after flood

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