Kathleen LaFrancis Eaton
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who participated! On Jan. 11 David and Kathleen Eaton looked for a way to get clothing to California fire victims. An online search identified an Arizona clothing drive for LA fire victims, which was started in Gilbert, Ariz., by Wes Bender and his wife. After some brief discussion, he promised that he would arrange to pick up the next day any clothing that we collected in SaddleBrooke Preserve. At 11:45 a.m. we sent out a notice to The Preserve residents via two different email lists to invite additional contributions. Within 15 minutes, donations came pouring in. We were overwhelmed with the response! Numerous communications with the group in Gilbert established that it would be a challenge, but they could handle the massive volume. Several people also donated funds to help pay for gas to get the items to California.
On Monday evening, Wes’ son arrived at our house with a 6×12-foot U-Haul trailer and a large pickup truck. The trailer and pickup were loaded to the hilt with hundreds of bags of clothing. It barely fit in the truck and trailer, but with the help of several neighbors, we managed to get it all in!
By the end of the week, four large rental vehicles (two semi-trucks and two large U-Haul trailers) reached a church in Fearless, Calif., where our donations were sorted and distributed to many of the LA fire victims who came from all over the region. It is remarkable to see our community in action and cooperation with others. We were thrilled by the rapid response and generosity of our neighbors.
Although many others called us in the following days hoping to make a donation in the future, thus far, no more trips to California are planned. But if that changes, we will let people know.
Thanks again to the 100-plus people who quickly went through their drawers and closets and delivered their clothes to our house for distribution in California within 24 hours of the first notice!