Author Topic: Relief efforts and donations for California wildfire victims  (Read 12910 times)

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Offline bosk1

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Relief efforts and donations for California wildfire victims
« on: November 16, 2018, 01:45:51 PM »
UPDATE:  Anyone wanting to donate to the wild fire relief efforts can use the following link:  www.paypal.me/boyscouttroop1855

All money donated there will be used DIRECTLY to support wild fire victims, and primarily to provide food and necessities that actual people need and things they have lost.  We have several people who are going there and directly meeting with people face to face.

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We don't usually use the forums to solicit for various causes.  But after talking with certain folks behind the scenes, we thought it would be cool to reach out to the forum and see if any of you guys want to help out.  I am sure most of you guys have heard about the fires in Paradise, California, which have been described as the worst/deadliest in our state's history.  My son is leading a relief effort on behalf of our local Boy Scout Troop to raise funds and collect other items.  We have several people that are traveling regularly up to that area to distribute the funds and other items (clothing, food, water, toiletries, toys for kids, etc.). 

If anyone is interested in donating, please send me a PM.  Funds will be made out to the Boy Scout Troop, so you can keep records for your taxes and get a tax deduction if you are so inclined.  If I get a lot of inquiries, I may set up a Paypal account to make it easier, if that is what people want.  Just let me know.

To give you guys a flavor for how bad it is, the entire town and surrounding area have been destroyed.  That includes homes, businesses, you name it.  Gone.  All of it.  People are living in tents in Wal-Mart parking lots, and wherever else they can find.  I am about 90 miles away, and the smoke is so bad here that all of the school districts are shut down, and visibility is only a few city blocks.  Here is a pic I took from my office window just now (that is all smoke, not cloud cover or fog--and it has been like this for days now):



Anyhow, again, we don't normally use the forums for this kind of thing.  But this is an extraordinary situation, so...  Thanks in advance for any who care to help.

« Last Edit: November 28, 2018, 10:55:49 AM by bosk1 »
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Online lonestar

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Re: Relief efforts and donations for California wildfire victims
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2018, 11:30:37 PM »
Thanks for doing this Bosk, it's just horrific. I've already donated to a gofundme for a family I know who lost everything, and you'd be hatd pressed to live in norcal and not know someone affected. Air quality is just as bad here in the bay, I can't even see two blocks down the hill from the hotel, much less the bay itself wuich is only a few miles away.

Offline bosk1

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Re: Relief efforts and donations for California wildfire victims
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2018, 04:41:35 PM »
Update:  The devastation up there is unreal.  But the good news is, there are so many active volunteers taking care of people and distributing money, food, and supplies.  I just hope people don't forget after a few weeks.  So many people have lost homes and basically everything they had.  I am not trying to minimize the other fires we have had this year or in recent years, but what made the impact of this one a bit different is that it was in a VERY isolated area with basically only one road in or out, and it spread SO quickly that there was no advance warning for people to load up belongings and make a few trips getting things out of town.  I heard a story from someone I know that their son and his wife had gotten up really early that morning as he went off to work, and then she went back to bed after he left.  She was then awakened sometime later by a commotion outside, so she got up and went to the door to see what was going on.  When she opened the door, she saw that the apartment building across the street was completely engulfed in flame.  She grabbed their son and ran to the car, and the heat was so intense that her hair started to catch fire as she ran to the car.  They got out, but pretty scary.  And I have heard plenty of similar stories.

Anyhow, the relief effort will be ongoing for quite some time, so if people want to contribute, please do.  The Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other groups are involved, so you can contribute directly to them if you like.  Or if you want to make sure the money gets directly to people without red tape and part of it going to overhead expenses, feel free to send it to me or to these guys (I can vouch for them):  https://chicocofc.org/
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Offline bosk1

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Re: Relief efforts and donations for California wildfire victims
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2018, 10:57:57 AM »
My family and others we know have been up there helping out and meeting face-to-face with people impacted by the fires to help them and give them what they need.  The outpouring of generosity toward these folks is really great to see.  Thanks to all on the forum who have contributed or who will do so in the future.  This effort will be ongoing for a long time.
"The Supreme Court of the United States has descended from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."

Offline JayOctavarium

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Re: Relief efforts and donations for California wildfire victims
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2018, 08:36:31 PM »
I saw on Twitter that the band made a contribution. That's awesome!
I just don't understand what they were trying to achieve with any part of the song, either individually or as a whole. You know what? It's the Platypus of Dream Theater songs. That bill doesn't go with that tail, or that strange little furry body, or those webbed feet, and oh god why does it have venomous spurs!? And then you find out it lays eggs too. The difference is that the Platypus is somehow functional despite being a crazy mishmash or leftover animal pieces

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Offline JustJen

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Re: Relief efforts and donations for California wildfire victims
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2020, 06:51:44 PM »
feels like a sticky from 2018 might have run it's course. just sayin
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Offline JayOctavarium

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Re: Relief efforts and donations for California wildfire victims
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2020, 07:37:24 PM »
feels like a sticky from 2018 might have run it's course. just sayin

It was a really bad fire.
I just don't understand what they were trying to achieve with any part of the song, either individually or as a whole. You know what? It's the Platypus of Dream Theater songs. That bill doesn't go with that tail, or that strange little furry body, or those webbed feet, and oh god why does it have venomous spurs!? And then you find out it lays eggs too. The difference is that the Platypus is somehow functional despite being a crazy mishmash or leftover animal pieces

-BlobVanDam on "Scarred"