With hundreds of buildings destroyed and thousands more threatened in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, what formerly stood like an inviting series of surfside communities now resembles a war zone. Muted sunset smoke filled skies, charred vehicles, pedestrians with makeshift gas masks, and annihilated buildings paint a grim Southern Californian panorama. And while the scope of devastation is daunting, people from within the surf industry are actively making efforts to help. From sponsored local events, to robust Gofundme accounts, to social media posts by professional surfers and concerned locals alike, people and organizations are getting creative, reaching out, and finding ways to support those most affected.
Dane Reynolds, for one, posted an invitation and follow-up to a Former fire relief sale on Instagram, designed to benefit local direct action. Networking in a way only @sealtooth could pull off he wrote, “stoked to bring @former to ventura to raise some funds for people who need it recovering from thomas fire which is currently raging through summerland and montecito ???stay safe my friends.”
The surf and motorcycle lifestyle retail outfit, Iron and Resin, also threw down a call to action. Owner and co-founder Thom Hill posted the following on this Gofundme account:
Almost all of us at Iron & Resin were personally affected by the fires; we are fortunate that none of us lost our homes. Many in our community have not been so lucky. We’ve had so many people reach out to us with a desire to help, and we wanted to create a space for people to come together. With a large social and professional network to activate relief efforts, in addition to local facilities and intel; we are poised to provide direct aid to those most impacted. We are coordinating a relief effort called Help California (#helpcalifornia) to bring relief to those families who have lost their homes and are facing the monumental task of rebuilding their lives.
We currently have volunteers in the field canvassing the areas that have been hit the hardest by this fire. They are assessing the needs of families, to determine what items or services we can provide to give them even a small amount of relief. In addition to the on the ground efforts, we have also created this GoFundMe account to raise funds that will be used to meet these needs. Laura, the Help California financial administrator, will be directly responsible for helping coordinate the purchase of supplies to support the volunteers on the ground and relief items that will go to those families most affected by the fires. 100% of the Help California proceeds will be used to meet these needs…
To read Thom Hill’s full statement and learn more about this campaign go to here.
Getting up and running on all levels is paramount when disaster strikes. These crucial early steps, though, are only the first few on a long road to recovery. Fortunately, along with locals and retailers, larger organizations are also setting up ways for people to get involved. The San Diego Tribune suggested these 5 additional possibilities for getting active:
1. Donate to the Thomas Fire Fund
2. Seek out other verified Southern California wildfire Gofundme campaigns
3. Check out You Caring initiatives
4. Support Foodbank Santa Barbara
5. Contribute to the United Way’s Southern California Wildfire Fund
Click the San Diego Tribune’s link in the sources and links section below to read the full article.
sources and links:
Iron and Resin GoFundMe Account
Featured Image of previous So Cal Fire: Wikimedia Commons Alex Miroshnichenko