MILWAUKEE — At night you can find Milwaukee hard rock guitarist and vocalist Dan Kubinski on stage performing for fans across the country. By day, he works as a contractor.
"Over my 35 years of being a roofer, I collected all these things," said Kubinski.
Early Monday morning, Kubinski woke up to find that all the tools he needs to make a living were gone.
"As soon as I walked out my front door I could see that the side window was busted out and there was just glass covering the sidewalk everywhere."
He says someone broke into his van overnight and stole nearly $5,000 worth of equipment.
"They broke the driver's side rear window and cut and ripped apart the steel mesh," said Kubinski. "Somebody crawled in through that hole and handed out my generator, my corded saw, my battery-powered saw, my drill, just everything."
Leaving Kubinski out of work and wondering how he was going to replace everything in time for summer. A season when he makes the majority of his income.
But little did he know that the community was about to change his life. After hearing what happened to Kubinski, Justin Perkins created a GoFundMe to help his longtime friend get back onto his feet.
"When I saw him post that he had his tools stolen, I just felt like I should start a fundraiser of some kind," said Perkins.
The community took care of the rest.
"We watched it go from zero to a couple hundred dollars in about an hour. I got really emotional watching it because every couple of minutes boom boom $20, $50, $100," said Kubinski.
Now after raising more than $8,000 in less than a week, Kubinski says he'll be able to go back into business by Wednesday and upgrade his van's security.
"It was just, it really, really means a lot," said Kubinski. "I'm not the kind of guy that will really ask for help. I would rather tough it out. I'm grateful and I'll be eternally grateful."
If you'd like to make a donation to the GoFundMe, click here.
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