Bay Area businesses, residents organize relief efforts to help Los Angeles fire victims
As people watch the wildfire disaster playing out in Los Angeles, many in the Bay Area are looking for practical ways to help. For the last few days, businesses and individuals have organized relief efforts to help those in need in the Southland.
With the harrowing images coming out of Los Angeles, it didn't take long to realize that this was going to be a major disaster and that help was going to be desperately needed.
Westgate Church in San Jose began an emergency donation drive on Thursday, and by Friday they had collected enough to fill a semi-truck, donated by Piedmont Trucking Solutions of San Jose, to be delivered to a non-profit relief hub called the Dream Center.
"Everybody came together--community, faith communities, engaged citizens, trucking folks. Everybody came together," said Finny Abraham, Westgate's local compassion pastor. "I understand that after 48 hours the needs of fire victims and those who are evacuees changes. But at that time they needed diapers, children's formula, water and other things. We were able to send a semi-truck of relief material there."
The same thing was happening in Oakland where Joodooboo, a Korean tofu restaurant, became a collection point for more relief essentials. That shipment went out Sunday morning, thanks to a caravan of volunteers.
"We all have friends and family in affected areas," said owner Steve Joo. "We all know what it is to be in an area that's heavily affected by wildfires."
People are putting whatever talents they have to work to help out.
Violinist Rose Crelli staged a benefit concert in Patricia's Green in Hayes Valley. At the Hella Bagels shop in Albany, workers were busy making a special Huevos Rancheros bagel, with the proceeds going to an organization called "Feed The Streets, LA."
"Running a bagel shop, we're in here all day, every day. I mean, there's not much time for anything else, so it's like, what can we do?" said Hella Bagels owner Blake Hunter. "It just kind of felt like a perfect marriage for us because of what we do, and the understanding of, like, a warm meal sometimes."
John Hallett made a trip to the bagel shop just to contribute to the cause.
"Anything you can do to make yourself feel like you're involved somehow with the misery that's there, and maybe relieve it somehow, I think helps us. In our sense of being part of a greater community," he said.
But if there's a place where the terror of wildfire hits home, it's in the North Bay. Vonnell Osmidoff owns Beach Bungalow 415, a beach-themed clothing shop In Novato, but she lives in Santa Rosa and remembers what it was like when she had to evacuate her home in 2017.
"Explosion after explosion after explosion," she said. "And I went out into the street and everyone was already packing. And I'm, like, oh my gosh, I think we need to pack. So we started packing and it's just weird what you grab. I was a little unorganized and I grabbed my fanciest dresses--stuff that I knew I couldn't replace—yet, I didn't have any socks, I didn't have any underwear, I didn't have any shoes."
That's why she started a clothing drive for the Southern California evacuees, donating a bunch of brand-new inventory and taking in contributions from her clients.
"People are just overwhelmed with wanting to do something and they didn't know what to do," said Vonnell. "And they're all so excited that I'm going to drive down there, and they keep bringing in their items. And it's been wonderful."
From her experience, she knows that practical items will be needed, but so will some things to help ease the emotional toll, as well.
"I'm trying to just get regular clothing together that I know everyone can use," said Vonnell. "Plus, I'm donating stuff that maybe someone had something like that in their closet, and it's this really pretty dress, and they're, like, I feel so pretty in this...and all of that is gone."
She'll still be collecting donations for the next ten days, or so, and will then rent a trailer to deliver the items on Jan. 26 to a location near the fire zone. In ways big and small, people are doing what they can to try to help...in a situation where a whole lot of people are feeling pretty helpless.
