BRUNSWICK, Maine — When 33-year-old Kimberly Hill of Wiscasset died suddenly on March 20, family and friends were stunned and heartbroken, particularly for Hill’s 9-year-old twins, Macie and Brody.
But sorrow turned to determination. Within weeks, fundraisers at Taste of Maine in Woolwich and Benchwarmers Restaurant and Sports Pub in Brunswick had added more than $42,000 to a fund to benefit the children of the beloved woman.
An estimated 350 people, some donning hats reading “#KimiStrong,” attended a benefit Saturday at Benchwarmers, where Hill worked as a bartender on “Wing Night” for four years.
“It was wild,” owner Mike Cota, a longtime friend of Hill’s, said this week. “Kimi was bubbly and happy. Everybody loved her.”
Still, he was surprised by how many friends, local residents and vendors offered items for an auction and raffle.
Cota, a lobsterman from Harpswell, said the community overwhelmed him with donations, including herring, oysters and lobsters, a lobster trap and doormats made from recycled lobster trap rope.
Tess’ Market donated a private wine tasting for 16. Cota donated 50 percent of the night’s sales to the fund.
Big-ticket items included a 2016 membership to Brunswick Golf Club and a two-week stay at New England Golf & Tennis Camp in Belgrade.
By Saturday evening, they had raised more than $27,000, and to date the event has brought in another $5,000, according to Cota.
The generosity and love for Hill and her children was evident all day April 9, said Cota, who by midafternoon announced he was accepting bids on free drinks for the rest of the night — which brought in another $350.
“There was one guy who bid against himself for a set of Rossignol skis,” he said. “He said, ‘$600,’ and no one bid against him, so he said, ‘$650.’”
Focusing on the kids, Cota said, “is what Kimi would have wanted.”
The kitchen was closed that day to allow staff to attend the event, Cota said this week. Instead, food was donated by Brunswick restaurants, including Big Top Deli.
“It’s what you do,” owner Anthony Sachs said. Although he didn’t know Hill, one of his employees was her cousin, he said.
On March 31, Taste of Maine Restaurant in Woolwich held a fundraiser for Hill’s twins and donated 30 percent of all sales to the fund. The event netted $10,000.
Maine State Police continue to investigate Hill’s death in The Forks, Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Friday.
Hill’s boyfriend, Tyler Poland of Greene, told police early the morning of March 20 that Hill jumped from his pickup truck. Police said Greene placed her in the cab of his truck and drove south to meet first responders, but she died on the way.
Donations to the Macie and Brody Fund can be sent to Madeleine Hill, P.O. Box 28, South Freeport, ME 04078.
“Things will never be the same,” Cota said. “She was definitely one of a kind.”