- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Effort to distribute Valley fire donations expands to more locations
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The work of getting the vast number of donations into the hands of thousands of Valley fire survivors is expanding this week, with many dedicated individuals laboring behind the scenes to make sure that those whose lives were hit hardest by the fire get the help they need.
This week, a partnership that includes Adventist Community Services, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the county of Lake will open two distribution points – both in Lakeport – with plans for another as-yet unannounced location in Hidden Valley Lake and another location currently being offered in Cobb.
On Monday, a storefront will open at 857 11th St., in the former Sears retail space in the Willow Tree Plaza behind Round Table Pizza in Lakeport, which will be overseen by Adventist Community Services.
Offered will be clothing for all ages, bedding and towels, food, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, housewares, water and more.
The 7,000-square-foot space is set up like a store, and fire survivors will be able to pick up what they need – for free – after presenting identification and proof of address, according to Seth Cantu, a member of the pastoral team at Upper Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church, who is one of the tireless individuals involved in getting distribution points open.
Hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, Cantu said.
Next to Lampson Airport in Lakeport is the 66,000-square-foot Work Right building, located at 4615 Work Right Circle, which has served as the hub for receiving donations collected by organizations in Lake and neighboring counties.
The Work Right building also will officially open as a distribution point on Wednesday, according to Lori Thornton, a local member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose efforts secured the space.
Thornton said the hours at the Work Right building will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily or by appointment.
Thornton said Sunday that the Little Red Schoolhouse, located at 15780 Bottle Rock Road in Cobb, also is acting as a distribution point for donations, with work under way to confirm a Hidden Valley Lake location.
Since the fire broke out on Sept. 12, donations have poured in – not just from other county residents, but from other parts of California and from across the United States.
This past week, the county of Lake announced that it would no longer take donations of clothing or personal items, but instead was asking people to consider donating money to a number of local funds that have been set up for that purpose.
Deputy County Administrative Officer Jeff Rein said donations have come in from the lower 48 states, and while that generosity has been heartwarming, the sheer quantity of items has created a logistical challenge as officials have looked for sufficient space to warehouse, organize and sort the items.
The Work Right building's vast warehouse space is almost entirely filled by just a portion of the donations. “I have enough stuff waiting in semi trucks and conex boxes to fill another one of those,” Rein said.
Thornton said the Mormon Church didn't start its own effort after the fire began, but instead joined the Adventists and the Kelseyville Lions Club.
When it became clear that more warehouse space was needed, she reached out to the Work Right building's owner, Ed Olsen, who drove up from the Bay Area on Sept. 27, the day after she contacted him, and gave her the keys to the building for an initial six-month commitment. Free of charge.
“When we took over that warehouse, that became the hub,” said Cantu.
Rein said the building subsequently became the receiving point for donations collected by organizations including the Middletown and Cobb Lions clubs, Middletown Bible Church, United Christian Parish and Clearlake Methodist Church.
Cantu said donations came in from other places, too, including the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, which sent 626 pear bins filled with items; the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, which had been an evacuation shelter; and Bushay Campground at Lake Mendocino, which also had given space to evacuees.
Rein credited both Adventist Community Services and the Mormon Church for their work to put order to the near chaos created by the avalanche of donations, which are now being sorted and rolled out to the distribution points. “We didn't know what we had,” Rein said.
Rein said the Federal Emergency Managing Agency, or FEMA, which is involved in the fire response due to President Barack Obama's Sept. 22 presidential major disaster declaration, looks to the Adventist Community Services for donations management. “That is their area of expertise.”
Charlene Sargent of Adventist Community Services, who oversaw donations for Hurricane Katrina, came to Lake County to help get the situation sorted out, with organization improving vastly within 24 hours, Rein said.
He said the Mormon Church members and four crews of California Conservation Corps members – about 72 young people – began the sorting process.
Cantu said that in two 12-hours shifts, with 50 people working on each shift, they managed to get things in order. He said new processes for accepting and sorting items were put in place to help get ahead of the disorganization that was in place at the warehouse at first.
“It was indescribable,” he said.
Cantu explained that in the 1970s a number of major mass care groups got together and chose specialty niches when responding to disasters.
Red Cross chose sheltering, the Baptist and Methodists churches became providers of top notch food pantries, and the Adventists chose donation allocation, including distribution and warehousing, he said. “That's what we train on.”
Since then, the organization has worked on major disasters, like hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, he said.
Preparing to open the doors
Cantu stepped up into his current role when the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church became an evacuation shelter, donation and distribution point after the fire started.
He said they housed about 50 people but had room for many more, and he found himself in a leadership role when he went to Randy Brehms, pastor at the Seventh-day Adventist churches in Lakeport and Upper Lake, and suggested that the church's evacuation, distribution and warehousing operations could be run differently.
The result: Cantu said he was “voluntold” – a new word he's created – to take charge. He's since worked up to 20 hours a day for a month, getting little rest and seeing his wife and young children very little of the time.
“I miss my pillow,” Cantu said.
He said he's gotten training on the job, and that the experience, though tiring, has been wonderful. “I've truly appreciated the opportunity to serve the people.”
Said Brehms, “He is amazing.”
On Sunday afternoon, at the Lakeport storefront, Cantu, along with Brehms and a host of volunteers were busily moving racks of clothing, setting up displays for other goods and arranging the 5,000-square-foot showroom floor.
“We have a lot to do in a short amount of time,” said Cantu as he directed the volunteers on where to set up items and showed off the stocked space in the back part of the building.
The building space has been donated, Pacific Gas and Electric is providing electricity without charge and other organizations – like UPS – have offered services at no charge, Cantu said.
Brehms, who has been in the ministry for more than three decades, said he's personally never been involved in such a disaster response project.
“This really is what the church is supposed to be doing,” said Brehms.
He said the Adventists, United Christian Parish, Mormon Church and other faith groups have worked well together, noting he's been impressed with the level of cooperation.
Brehms pointed out that there is more to do than any one church organization can take on, comparing the situation to trying to take a drink out of a firehose.
With the forecast calling for a wet winter, Brehms is concerned about the potential for other emergencies ahead. “This is just a prelude of what's coming next.”
A family effort
At the Work Right building on Sunday afternoon, Thornton and her family – husband, Gene, son Patrick and his wife, Sharon – were working alongside a team of California Conservation Corps members on the ongoing organizational project.
Still to be sorted is what everyone involved with the warehouse calls “Mount St. Moose” – the stacks of hundreds of pear bins containing the Moose Lodge donations.
The Thorntons also were getting everything in order so that they can be open on Wednesday for distribution.
Part of their ongoing efforts also include moving goods out to the other distribution points in Lakeport and Cobb.
“We've got to get this stuff out of here now,” Lori Thornton said. “It's a big push.”
One of the needs is for household goods like furniture. She said they've already been working to try to get furniture to the survivors who need it.
Thornton estimates she walks five miles a day back and forth through the vast warehouse, which looks smaller now thanks to all that it contains.
Taking another turn through the warehouse Sunday afternoon, Thornton – pointing to the hundreds of shrink-wrapped pallets of sorted goods, as well as the boxes and bins that still need to be sorted – said, “All of this stuff here belongs to fire survivors.”
She said they are working to be good stewards of all of the donations.
Both she and Cantu noted the incredible generosity they've seen. Thornton said one man drove all the way from Los Angeles with a load of donations.
How you can help
The donation distribution facilities need volunteers in order to keep doors open and goods moving out to those who need it.
To volunteer at the Lakeport storefront, visit the location at 857 11th St. and fill out a volunteer application.
To help at the Work Right distribution center, contact Lori Thornton at 707-349-0849. Those needing to arrange to pick up goods at the center also can contact Thornton.
The Thorntons said there are specific items needed at the Work Right distribution center, including five-gallon buckets, hand tools, shovels and rakes, and tarps.
They also are seeking donations of RVs, as they reported some people on Cobb are still living in tents.
For people who still have goods like clothes that they want to donate, Cantu urges them to hold yard sales and donate the money, as the centers are no longer taking donations of any clothing items.
Officials continue to encourage people who want to help to make monetary donations through local organizations, including following:
– Mendo Lake Credit Union and North Coast Opportunities: Payments may be made online at www.LakeCountyLAC.com or checks may be made out to Mendo Lake Credit Union or North Coast Opportunities with a memo for Valley fire and mailed to the following branch locations: 14866 Olympic Drive, Clearlake, CA 95422; 953 11th Street, Lakeport, CA 95453; 526 S State Street, Ukiah, CA 94582.
– Redwood Credit Union: Donate online at www.redwoodcu.org/lakecountyfirevictims or mail a check payable to Redwood Credit Union to RCU Lake County Fire Relief, c/o Redwood Credit Union, P.O. Box 6104,Santa Rosa, CA 95406.
– Lake Area Rotary Club Association: Donate online at www.larca5130.org or mail your donation to LARCA, c/o Lakeport Rotary Valley Fire Relief Fund, P.O. Box 937, Lakeport, CA 95453, nonprofit tax ID # 46-1149482.
– Lake County Winegrape Commission: Donate online to the #LakeCountyRising fund at www.lakecountywinegrape.org/news-events/valley-fire-relief-fund or can mail a check to Lake County Wine Alliance, P.O. Box 530, Kelseyville, CA 95451.
– Middletown Area Merchants Association: Donations can be sent directly to Tri Counties Bank, 707-987-3196, Routing No. 121135045, Account No. 238008098; or send checks made out to the MAMA Valley Fire Recovery Fund and mailed to the association, P.O. Box 872, Middletown, CA 95461.
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