Community fundraises thousands for family of late Lemon Grove City Council member

Sitivi Steve Faiai is survived by his wife of over years Lauren Holmes Faiai and his two sons Cameron and Riley The funds raised will advocacy the Faiai Four after the councilmember s sudden death Photo courtesy of GoFundMe The Lemon Grove district has raised more than on GoFundMe to help the family of Sitivi Steve Faiai s family after his sudden death last week The funds will help financially promotion the first-term council member s wife and two sons following Faiai s abrupt death from a heart attack last Tuesday Faiai who also went by Steve was Lindsay Holmes Faiai s sister-in-law started the charity event the day after the councilmember died because the family s financial burden will be heavy from Faiai s unexpected death My sister would never want to ask for help but we all know she d be the first person to create a GoFundMe for someone who needed it Holmes wrote of her sister and Faiai s wife of over years Lauren Holmes Faiai Any amount given will be an incredible aid to the family as we give them space to grieve and process Faiai was elected to Lemon Grove City Council in November While he didn t have a background in politics Faiai noted he was inspired to become a community leader to serve the local children he coached Photo courtesy of GoFundMe More than society members have donated to help the Faiai Four so far and the benefit event is just a couple thousand dollars away away from its goal of An involved member of the local population Faiai coached football at Helix High School in La Mesa worked as an early-morning manager at a Sprouts grocery store and pastored at OB One Church in Ocean Beach when he wasn t at the Lemon Grove City Council His priorities reflected a deep sense of society pride and building a cleaner safer and more united Lemon Grove the city wrote in a report about Faiai s death Councilmember Faiai was a bridge-builder known for listening with humility and moving forward with a purpose Faiai was elected to the council in November after living in Lemon Grove for four years and in East County for numerous more While he didn t come from a background in politics he made an impact during his short-lived tenure by focusing on addressing homelessness constituents safety and patronage for children and families