Hi everyone, as you may know my sister is in the mermaid community and is basically trying to revive the NY scene from the dead. Here is her sleep-deprived message to all of you:

Hi y'all. Inquy here, real name Inga. I am Gam’s sister, you may have seen me at his bday meetup :)

I always crack jokes that the mermaid and furry community are siblings, except fursuits and water don't mix. While we have no plans to merge the two communities in any way, I've asked my brother if he would kindly help boost this fundraiser: https://gofund.me/1bd867e5

There is absolutely no pressure but I'm really hoping this community might help donate and/or share.

This fundraiser is about helping the most prominent mermaid in New York City - a wonderful woman who has overcome multiple challenges and is just a little down on her luck right now. But this fundraiser is also about the entire mermaid community as a whole.

Let me explain.

Our monthly swim meetups ended when the only organization hosting meetups suddenly discontinued them and stopped responding to messages (we have confirmed the people in charge are okay, just seem to have lost interest in the community). I have reached out to them multiple times trying to get clarification whether this was a temporary hiatus or if we should look for another way to swim. No response. It has been over a year since our pod has had a local meetup. I've also since reached out to the indoor pool we used to go to and got no response.

I’ve been meaning to do something about this for a while, but was working on getting my PADI Mermaid Instructor cert, emergency first response cert, and working on my underwater photography.

But then I found out that our most prominent member is currently struggling with finances and cannot work because of severe pain. So I needed to do something about it, and that took precedence. So that’s why I created this fundraiser.

Whether you can donate right now isn't what matters most, although every dollar counts (boosts the algo just a little). What's important is generating enough momentum and visibility so people feel inspired to share and notice that the mermaid community takes care of its own.

Securing pools for mermaid meetups is an uphill battle because of lifeguard requirements, operational costs, liability, etc. so my goals here are twofold:
1) Get Cookie back on her feet - all of the money from this fund goes directly to her (we are working on getting her last name changed w/ GoFundMe, it was just not changed when she married)
2) Use this momentum to show local community pools (which can be cheaper and easier to rent than private pools) that we take care of our community so that they allow us to have meetups

Many people are drawn to the community for its beauty, but I notice a lack of actual social cohesion. I am hoping to show folks that we are here for each other.

I also know that Cookie would be ecstatic if we could get the meetups restarted as it would help her pain. P.S. Feel free to reach out. I’m @inquy here and also on insta/bluesky(no fb).