Different people give in different ways. As a Community Foundation we are very familiar with monetary giving, and our countless donors that give when called upon to make a difference are invaluable to this community. We cannot thank them enough. Today though, on the eve of Christmas with the spirit of giving in the air, we would like to take the opportunity to thank those that have given their time this past year. Those that volunteer their time are a very special sort, as time is something you can’t get back.
The Caldor Fire was a catastrophe like nothing our community has previously faced, and as your Community Foundation, our responsibility was to provide immediate financial relief to ease the burden carried by those directly impacted by evacuation. At its peak, the fire forced the evacuation of more than 50,000 people throughout El Dorado County stretching thin the staff of the Foundation, two of whom were also evacuated. However, shortly after the start of the fire, something miraculous started happening. In addition to pleas for help from an evacuated community, we began receiving phone calls from those offering their time, to help in any way they could.
Volunteers came from all over the county and helped in countless ways, answering phones in the Community Foundation office, assisting with gift card distributions to evacuees, providing interpretation for Spanish speaking evacuees, and even helping to clean and reorganize the El Dorado Community Foundation office! Between the Western Slope and South Lake Tahoe, the Foundation held 19 large scale distributions with numerous volunteers showing up for each to keep things running smoothly. From crowd control to ID verification to handing out the gift cards, these volunteers made all the difference to both the exhausted Foundation staff and the thousands of individuals and families struggling with access to basic necessities while evacuated, many not knowing the status of their home and their livelihood.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to Wendy David, Cindy Martinez, Alexi Haven, Alex Norling, Lynn Norling, James Seider, Julie Molesworth, Marlene Guerrero, Javier Guerrero, Kathi Jensen, Mary Palin, Karen Goldberg, Karin Holmes, Mary Wagner, Paula Peterson, Bill Martinez, Shelly Martinez, Jennifer Stafford, Jen Trew, Melissa James, Judy Riva, Kimberly Johnson, Marcela Chavez, John Vybiral, Linda Spies, Sharon McGaughey, Suzy & Scott Lee, Kay Osborn, Nettie Fox, Tracy H, Vince Nibler, Vicky Vail, Tracy Celio, Marc Musgrove, Nansea LeFrancois, Holly Collier, Pam Tenorio, Mindy Barsotti, Susan Fredericks, Ernest Hartley, Robyn Parker, Jeff England, Jen Calvin, Michelle Martin, Diane Sargeant, Joan Scheppelmann, Maureen Brown, Yolanda McGillivray, Sharon McGaughey, Erin Davidson, Kathy McCurry, Dickson Schwarzbach, Pam Hagen, Cathy Harris, Vera Nicholas, Heather Goodwin, Lynnee Boyes, Mary Richardson, Andrea Hirsbrunner, and Pat Ekland, who still comes in almost once a week to help out! Please forgive us if we missed you (or misspelled a name), we did our best to list everyone who volunteered but with so much chaos during the fire, it is possible we have missed or misspelled a name or two. Named here or not, if you volunteered for us or for any other local organization during the Caldor Fire, you are a hero, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Such a heavy burden to lift! The Foundation was, and continues to be, our light that leads the way through our darkest times. The outpouring of helpers appearing from this entire community was nothing short of miraculous- so very many heroes! It is very kind of you to offer your thanks to us and we know how many thousands of others were out there doing whatever they could. I would like to offer a special thank you to the committee for long term recovery that is now working diligently to pave the way forward . Heroes all.