Hundreds of miles away from her home state of Maine, a business owner in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood is trying to channel her anxiety over the mass shootings in Lewiston into productive action.”I just wanted to let my other Mainers in Pittsburgh know that I’m here for them,” said Emily Otte, who owns Emilichka, a plant store.As she absorbed the rolling coverage of the shootings and subsequent manhunt for the suspect, Otte took to Emilichka’s Instagram page with a message:”Mainers in Pittsburgh, if you need a place to be around other Mainers today and in the coming days, you are more than welcome to come here.”The message on her Instagram Story was accompanied by a picture of Sebago Lake, where Otte spent much of her childhood.The calm she feels on the lake mirrors that feeling she has around her plants.”It’s just soothing to be around plants,” Otte said.When Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 visited her shop Thursday, Otte said she hoped Emilichka could serve as a type of refuge for Mainers as they processed the unnerving developments in their home state.”It was just really scary not knowing where my friends who live in Lewiston and around Lewiston were right away and then trying to contact all my family,” Otte said.She told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that through Oct. 31, she plans to donate 10% of her business’ sales to the Lewiston victims and their families. As of Thursday, she had not yet chosen a charity or fund in which to donate.
Hundreds of miles away from her home state of Maine, a business owner in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood is trying to channel her anxiety over the mass shootings in Lewiston into productive action.
“I just wanted to let my other Mainers in Pittsburgh know that I’m here for them,” said Emily Otte, who owns Emilichka, a plant store.
As she absorbed the rolling coverage of the shootings and subsequent manhunt for the suspect, Otte took to Emilichka’s Instagram page with a message:
“Mainers in Pittsburgh, if you need a place to be around other Mainers today and in the coming days, you are more than welcome to come here.”
The message on her Instagram Story was accompanied by a picture of Sebago Lake, where Otte spent much of her childhood.
The calm she feels on the lake mirrors that feeling she has around her plants.
“It’s just soothing to be around plants,” Otte said.
When Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 visited her shop Thursday, Otte said she hoped Emilichka could serve as a type of refuge for Mainers as they processed the unnerving developments in their home state.
“It was just really scary not knowing where my friends who live in Lewiston and around Lewiston were right away and then trying to contact all my family,” Otte said.
She told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that through Oct. 31, she plans to donate 10% of her business’ sales to the Lewiston victims and their families. As of Thursday, she had not yet chosen a charity or fund in which to donate.
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