We were all touched by the devastating fires and did what we could in the moment, but what about now? With the holidays approaching and media attention turning elsewhere, how can we still help and what are the best places to focus our resources and time?
A group of concerned DCers created the following resource for our people to refer to, but we thought we’d publish it for anyone out there looking to help, too.
1) Donate money
The easiest way to help is simply to donate money, and there are many legitimate ways to do that. We made our donations to Tipping Point Emergency Relief Fund and did so through Google.org’s fundraising campaign that matches donations up to $1 million.
2) Donate things
Here’s a link to a community-generated document that outlines household items that are most needed.
The Redwood Empire Food Bank continues to help the community by accepting and distributing non-perishable food donations. You can drop non-perishable food (no glass) at their location at 3990 Brickway Blvd. in Santa Rosa. You can also donate gift cards to Hands on Bay Area.
3) Donate time
A lot of companies, ours included, offer employees a day (or days) of service option. If yours does, helping out in the North Bay would certainly be a great use of that time. Because while it’s going to take years to recover, a willing pair of hands, even for a day, will help the work go faster. It should be noted that they don’t want people, no matter how well-intentioned, just showing up. Here’s a current list of organizations looking for volunteers.
Together, we can make a real difference. Happy holidays to you all.
