The wildfires in California have been a frequent topic in the news lately, no matter where you live. Named Camp Fire because of the destructive way the fires have burned everything in their paths, hundreds of thousands of people have lost homes, loved ones, and years of work that went into creating a life in cities such as Paradise, California. These people’s lives have changed forever but here are just a couple ways that you can help those who have been impacted:
Donations.
Currently, if you are able, monetary donations and gift cards to the shelters and programs that are helping people resettle into new places are the most effective way to help victims. Financial aid will help families and individuals put down deposits on new places to live or support rent especially as many families are still waiting on insurance funds to be dispersed.
Gift card donations will allow people to purchase what they need after finding a new place to stay. By providing families with financial assistance, this allows them to move freely without worrying about having new materials, such as large amounts of clothing and towels, but no place to keep them. Plus, this is the easiest way to provide assistance from those who do not live near donation sites or shelters in California but are able to mail donations or submit online donations.
Just a few organizations that allow you to directly donate online to causes helping Camp Fire victims include:
The North Family Community Foundation
The California Fire Foundation
Small, one-time donations are accepted and all donations are tax deductible!
Doing a quick Google search will also provide you with dozens of charities that are accepting online and mailed donations. However, make sure the charities and programs you find are recognizable and trustworthy by having a quick glance through their website and a little outside research on the organization.
Learn and Educate.
Now that the fires have been contained, the next steps are supporting those who have been impacted and learning from this occurrence. One of the worst things we can do to the victims and ourselves is brush this off as a freak accident and move on with our lives without batting an eye at the causes and resulting damage.
Use this as an excuse to learn about the causes of wildfires and mistreatment of land management. What can we do as a society to prevent future disasters like this from occurring? How can we be sure to educate ourselves and each other on the issue at hand?
By doing our part in learning the widespread causes of wildfires, such as human induced climate change, and taking action from this knowledge, we can shape a new future and honor the communities that have been impacted by Camp Fire by preventing similar tragedies.