{"id":376462,"date":"2025-12-30T03:38:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T03:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/376462\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T03:38:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T03:38:07","slug":"online-fundraiser-launched-for-nanaimo-motel-residents-following-boxing-day-blaze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/376462\/","title":{"rendered":"Online fundraiser launched for Nanaimo motel residents following Boxing Day blaze"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/fire-residents-of-value-lodge\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">online fundraiser<\/a> has been launched through GoFundMe following the devastating fire that injured several people and caused significant damage to a local motel.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, the Value Lodge Motel was not just a motel, it offered housing options for many underprivileged Nanaimo community members.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At around 3 a.m. on December 26th the blaze tore through the Value Lodge, and left 36 long-term tenants suddenly homeless.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>All these individuals lost their personal belongings during the fire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese were not short-term guests. This was home,\u201d said Amanda Gangoso, a Nanaimo local impacted by the fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe residents include seniors, individuals with medical and mobility challenges, and people living on low incomes\u2014many of whom already faced limited housing options.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gangoso launched the fundraiser on behalf of the Value Lodge Motel in the hopes it can help others who were impacted by the destructive fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Value Lodge has been one of the few affordable housing options available to those in Nanaimo for over 15 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since the residents of the building have been displaced, Nanaimo Emergency Support Services have stepped in and provided temporary housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the Nanaimo community has come together to donate food and immediate support items to those impacted.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite the immediate support, Gangoso says the support will soon run out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s urgently needed now are funds to secure safe housing and basic necessities so these individuals can begin to stabilize after an unimaginable loss,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to Gangoso, the funds raised by the GoFundMe will go towards emergency and short-term accommodation, moving costs, medications and medical necessities, food, clothing, essential daily items and support to help residents begin rebuilding their lives.<\/p>\n<p>As the cold of winter sets in, she says that housing is the top priority.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis fundraiser exists for one purpose: to get people safely housed as soon as possible,\u201d said Gangoso.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery donation\u2014no matter the amount\u2014will directly support those impacted by this tragedy during this critical transition period.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She added that those who cannot donate can support the displaced residents by sharing the fundraiser on social media, sending the link via text or email or talking about it.<\/p>\n<p>As of this publication, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/fire-residents-of-value-lodge\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">GoFundMe<\/a> is at just over $10,500 of its $55,000 goal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An online fundraiser has been launched through GoFundMe following the devastating fire that injured several people and caused&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376463,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-376462","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}