When the Caldor Fire started and began to spread, the El Dorado Community Foundation immediately identified what was going to be one of the most pressing needs of those fleeing the path of devastation, swift financial assistance. As the evacuation zones grew larger with El Dorado County residents leaving behind everyday essentials like prescription medication, food, and shelter, we knew that we would need to get money into the hands of evacuees as quickly as possible.
Enter U.S. Bank, which provided a $25,000 donation and assistance in obtaining thousands of U.S. Bank Visa® Gift Cards that the El Dorado Community Foundation was looking to purchase, so that we could in turn get those cards into the hands of the evacuees who needed them the most. Within a few days of the start of the Caldor Fire, El Dorado Community Foundation was able to begin distribution of emergency funds to families. These desperate families’ needs ranged from buying gas to get to work, to an extra few nights in a hotel that they couldn’t afford, but were all but forced to stay in due to fears of COVID infecting an immunocompromised family member if they were to stay in an evacuation shelter.
“The Caldor Fire has had a devastating impact on many communities in El Dorado County,” said Brian Hogan, U.S. Bank region president for Nevada and Northern California. “We wanted to support the efforts to provide much needed relief to evacuees.”
In the midst of crisis, we witnessed a community come together. The amount of unique and repeat donations that came flooding in was staggering. We cannot thank the community enough for this incredible level of generosity, and the individuals and families who have benefited as well as those who will continue to benefit from this generosity will never forget how the community stepped forward for them. Without the support of U.S. Bank in getting thousands of Visa® gift cards for the Foundation to purchase with the community’s donations, relief would have taken much longer to come to the families in need making an already difficult situation impossible for thousands of evacuees.
