GREAT FALLS — It was last month when tragedy struck the community of Lahaina, after a devastating wildfire wiped through portions of the town.
With the death toll reaching over 100, businesses being shattered, and families losing their homes, one Great Falls business is not giving up hope.
The Wild Hare, located in downtown Great Falls has been fundraising since losing their sister bar, 'The Dirty Monkey' in downtown Lahaina.
The bar has been in business for nearly seven years.
Matthew Robb is co-owner of The Wild Hare and The Dirty Monkey. He arrived at the Electric City as The Wild Hare hosted a silent auction in support of their business and the people of Lahaina.
When speaking on arriving in Great Falls, Robb said "It's a very emotional one because you want to be there, you miss everybody, and you miss what's going on, but it's been a breath of fresh air to come back here to Montana, especially Great Falls and see the support that the community has given us. The outpouring has been just amazing."
The silent auction brought in people from not only Great Falls showing their support, but also from those who made their way from Hawaii.
"It's just been overwhelming, and the support has been amazing, especially just the community coming together for the donation items," said Amber Windy, manager at The Wild Hare. "We were up to over $8,000 in donations, and it's just a tremendous outpouring of support and love."
Continuing their rebuilding efforts, Robb discussed the next steps.
"We just have to wait for the U.S. government and the local government to figure out the leadership side and what's going to happen over there," he said. "Our firelife safety guys are doing the best they can in continuing to do what they need to do. We just have to be involved with the community, help the people that need to be needed, raise money, GoFundMe's, all that stuff helps the entire community, including my team. You just have to be ready to be able to go at a moment's notice. If they say, 'hey, we're going to start removing this, and you can start designing,' then that's what we'll do."
If you wish to donate in support of 'The Dirty Monkey' and the people affected by the wildfires, click on the link to the GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/thedirtymonkey
You can also send donations directly to 'The Wild Hare' located at 518 Central Avenue in Great Falls, 59401.
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