This is amazing, this money will help the family recover from the Durham gas explosion.

Kong Lee, owner of Kaffeinate in Durham, died in the tragic gas explosion. Locals showed their love for this beloved member of the community by donating over $150,000 to help his family lay him to rest, cover the mortgage of his home, and provide security while they prepare to rebuild the coffee shop.

Their GoFundMe page was recently updated with a message from his family.

A message from Diana and Raymond Lee-

It’s hard to believe it’s already been over 2 weeks since the explosion. During that time, we’ve had so much support from the community, and we don’t know how to thank you enough. We are absolutely blown away by all the love and assistance we’ve received, and it makes us happy that our dad’s love was felt by so many. April 10th was a long and devastating day for our family, but it was also filled with people from all over the city, state, and even country coming together. Thank you for donating to the gofundmes and giving us time to figure out our next steps. We can’t tell you how much stress that has taken off our shoulders and given us some room to breathe and grieve. Thank you for offering our staff work and caring for them. With a small shop like ours, they are our family also. Thank you for advocating for us, organizing on behalf of us, bringing us food, asking about our grandmother, checking in on us and dad’s dog, letting us cry, sitting with us, and keeping our dad alive in your hearts and your memories. Thank you to everyone who has gone out of their way for us. We hope Jay Rambeaut’s family feels your love just as fiercely as we do.

Everything our dad did was for his family. I can only imagine that he’s smiling knowing how many people came together to help take care of his family when he no longer could. While our grieving is far from over, we know many of you stand with us, and that makes a huge difference. Our memorial and funeral plans are in the works, and we will update you when we have a date and time so hopefully you can join us. Again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you, and we can only hope to repay your kindness in the future.

All our love,
Diana and Raymond

You can learn more and donate here.

Image: gofundme.com/lee-family-support