How Can We Help?

As our community begins the healing process after the Carr Fire, people have asked how they can help.  Although the emergency need for things like bottled water and breathing masks has passed, the needs of our community will grow and evolve throughout the coming months.  So I wanted to toss out some suggestions.  There are countless organizations that will accept donations for this relief and rebuilding effort.  I'm going to share some ideas but this is by no means an exhaustive list.  This is just a starting point.  I know it often feels more gratifying to donate to a specific project or person instead of a general disaster relief fund.  So, if you're looking for a more personal place to focus your donation dollars, here are some suggestions from a local girl. (If you have other suggestions for local donations, please feel free to leave them in the comments!)

1. NVCSS Adopt-a-Carr-Family
Northern Valley Catholic Social Services runs an adopt-a-family program at Christmas for needy families.  Now they have graciously taken on the administration of an Adopt-a-Carr Family program, allowing donors to directly meet the needs of families affected by the fire.  Donated items can be dropped off at their office September 5-8, 2018. (If you are an out-of-town friend and want to adopt a family, I can accept shipments of donated items and deliver them for you.  An Amazon or Target gift registry can make this easy to accomplish from anywhere around the US. Message me for details!)

2. Haven Humane Society
Haven Humane is our local animal shelter.  They took in HUNDREDS of evacuated, lost or injured animals, and also ended up evacuating the entire facility temporarily during the Carr Fire.  You can track the whole journey on their Facebook page.  They incurred significant expense caring for our local fur babies during this emergency.  I know they would appreciate some love. 

3. Shasta Union Elementary School
Shasta Elementary was the only school in the Redding area that was displaced by the Carr Fire.  Students began the school year at a temporary location while their school is repaired.  The main building still stands, but the playground and outbuildings were heavily damaged. Over half of the student body was displaced at least temporarily during the Carr Fire, and 35 students (about 28% of their student body) lost their homes.  The school is accepting donations to rebuild, and gift cards to assist their families.  Gift cards and monetary donations can be sent to Shasta Elementary School 5885 E. Bonnyview Road Redding, CA 96001.  Please make checks payable to Shasta Elementary School and write “Shasta Giving Tree” on the memo line.

4.  Friends of Whiskeytown
Here in Redding, we are lucky enough to live just a few miles from Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.  If you look at the Carr Fire map, you will see that the fire swept around the entire perimeter of the lake.  Along with the many trees that burned, much of the infrastructure around the Oak Bottom Marina was also destroyed, as well as a long list of other park amenities.  The Friends of Whiskeytown is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising private funds to support the park.  Over the years The Friends have purchased kayaks for ranger-led tours, paid for new trail bridges, and much more.  They help fill the gaps when federal funding falls short.  The recovery process at Whiskeytown will be long and expensive.  A gift to the Friends of Whiskeytown is truly a gift to the community at large, as the recovery of this crown jewel is an important step in healing for all of us that enjoy the trails, beaches, and educational programs offered at Whiskeytown. 

5.  GoFundMe
There are over 800 Carr Fire-related GoFundMe pages.  (Disclaimer...some have not proven to be legit) If you're looking for a story to inspire your giving, look no further.  Here are the GoFundMe stories that I know personally, or that I know to be true. There's the guy with the incredible Christmas display who dresses up like Santa and passes out cookies and hot cocoa every year.  There's the family of five from our church that lost everything.  There's the young firefighter and his family that were burned out of their rental. There's a family with young children that was off sailing the Virgin Islands and came home to nothing. There's the guy that makes amazing homemade sausages that we buy at the farmer's market.  There's the local swim team trying to keep their heads above water after being forced to cancel two of their major fundraising events. And there's the Redding firefighter that lost his life and left behind a wife and two children. 


6. Shasta Regional Community Foundation
SRCF has proven themselves to be a trusted community partner in raising, managing, and distributing funds to benefit our community.  They were uniquely poised to set up a disaster relief fund almost overnight, and I trust them to be thoughtful in how they disburse funds to aid the short term and long term recovery efforts. Yes, it's somewhat impersonal to donate to some giant relief fund.  But rest assured, these dollars will be well spent. They will go toward needs big and small, needs that might not be glamorous, and needs that we haven't yet identified. Truly, this recovery will take more than cases of bottled water and emergency blankets.  This fund will support the full evolution of our community in recovery. 

As I said, there are lots of ways to help because this recovery is so big.  There is debris to clear, homes to rebuild, dead trees to remove, trails to repair, bridges to fix, and water lines to patch. Beyond that, there are neighbors to care for, prayers to be said and a shell-shocked community to be stitched back together. We are now past the sensational "Fire Tornado" headlines, but this story is not yet over.  The chapter of our rising has just begun.