WASHINGTON — The friends of D.C. yoga instructor and actor Tricia McCauley, who was killed on Christmas Day, have set up a fund to help theater professionals get health insurance.

Ann Mezger told DCist that she and a group of friends wanted to honor McCauley by weaving her experiences together.

Mezger said that McCauley’s various jobs throughout her life never provided her with health insurance. McCauley was able to get insurance through the actors’ union, and when she began to focus less on acting, she was able to get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Mezger and her collaborators have an initial goal of raising $75,000 for Tricia’s Fund, which would offer health insurance to theater professionals.

McCauley was found strangled in her car. Duane Adrian Johnson, 29, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, has been charged with felony first-degree murder in her death.

Tricia’s Fund is set up on YouCaring. As of 6:30 a.m. Monday, nearly $35,000 had been raised.