Yousef Elhaj, owner of Church Street Market, has spent more than 15 years building his liquor/corner store and establishing it on Church and 15th Street. His story – immigrating from Palestine and trying to build a better life here – was even the focus of the 2011 documentary, Corner Store.

But a recent series of events have put its future in doubt. Now Elhaj is turning to the community for help.

As readers may remember, there was a three-alarm fire on February 21st along 15th Street, causing damage to the building that's home to Elhaj's store. The building was evacuated and had additional smoke and water damage. Shortly after, Elhaj returned to his store to do an inventory report for insurance only to find that looters had broken in and stolen many items and personal belongings.

Elhaj must wait at least a year for repairs to be completed to the damages, and is now fearful that rent will increase afterwards to an unaffordable amount.

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched on his behalf to help him cover the costs and possibly move to a new location, as his insurance only covers a portion of the total damages. The campaign has already raised over $3,000.

Do you know of any further fundraising efforts or opportunities for Elhaj or others affected by the fire and/or looting? Let us know in the comments.