BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer
News of the devastation caused by the Camp Fire in Butte County has prompted mid-Peninsula residents to ask how they can help the victims of the disaster.
The One Life Wellness Center at 1303 San Carlos Ave. in San Carlos is collecting items to be donated to families that have ties to Redwood City and San Carlos.
The center is collecting blankets and bedding, air mattresses, pet food, phone chargers, smoke masks, bottled water, clothing, toiletries, feminine products and folding chairs, as well as gift cards for places such as REI, Big 5, Safeway and gas stations.
The center on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. will host a local Girl Scout troop’s bake sale, where the proceeds will go to those affected by the Camp Fire. Redwood City resident Christian Skye is participating in the NorCal Audi Club’s drive up to Chico to drop off donations at the Elks Lodge in Chico. If people would like for Christian to pick up some items they would want to donate, they can reach him at (650) 701-3808 or [email protected].
Merrily Robinson, another Redwood City resident, is collecting gift cards to be donated to the fire victims. She will be driving up to Chico on Friday to hand out the gift cards, and asks that anyone who wishes to contribute contact her no later than Thursday. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
She suggests donors get gift cards from Costco, Target, Safeway, Save Mart, Dollar Tree, CVS, Subway, Walgreens, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart.
The Pets in Need shelter at 871 5th Ave. in Redwood City is collecting items that volunteers will take up to Chico on Monday. The shelter is asking for unopened dog and cat food, food and water bowls, exercise pens, plastic and wire crates, cardboard cat carriers, leashes and harnesses, cat litter, litter boxes, dog sweaters or jackets, pet beds, blankets and towels. Items can be dropped off through Sunday between noon to 5 p.m.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church at 1426 Springer Road in Mountain View is collecting donations of clothing, shoes and linens for fire victims.
Red Cross requests monetary contributions
Currently the local Red Cross chapters are only accepting monetary donations. This is because the agency does not have any warehouses or space to sort donated goods, said spokeswoman Cynthia Shaw. She added that because of the cost to take or ship a large amount of supplies to Chico from San Jose, it’s easier for them to collect the money and then spend it in the community near the disaster area.
Monetary donations can be made by texting CAWILDFIRES to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Shaw said the Red Cross is working with the Oroville Hope Center to hand out donations. The Oroville Hope Center is collecting goods and monetary donations. The Center posts daily on its Facebook group page to say what items need to be donated. You can find the group at https://bit.ly/2zbYsLL. The Hope Center’s address is 1950 Kitrick Ave., Suite A, Oroville, CA, 95966.
GoFundMe campaigns
Additionally, GoFundMe has created a roundup of pages that are attempting to raise money for victims. They can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/cause/californiafires.
Two of the campaigns listed on the site (https://www.gofundme.com/92fcb7-burned-out-lost-everything and https://www.gofundme.com/paradise-fire-tragedy) are that of Jayne Bryan and the Gartner family. Both are former Peninsula residents who were priced out of the area to Paradise. The fire destroyed both the Gartner’s and Bryan’s homes, and they were featured in Saturday’s Daily Post. Their story can be found here.
