A post from my FB feed:
THIS IS FROM A DEAR FRIEND WHO DOES NOT WANT HER NAME MENTIONED:
My friend and I filled up a suburban and a large pickup truck with donations for people at the tent camp at the Napa County Fairgrounds. We had contacted our friends and a few stores for donations. We ended up with a ton of stuff. We brought 25 cases of water, mens women's and children's clothing, toiletries, books, shoes, tents, tarps, pop up shelters, pillows, blankets and a ton more. When we arrived at the NC Fairgrounds it was very crowded. I drove in front and rolled down my window to speak with a Red Cross representative. I let him know we had two vehicles filled donations. His response was 'we do not need donations. We have plenty of stuff. The Red Cross could use cash donations'.
I had to keep on moving in my truck so I pulled forward and signaled my friend to pull behind me. We got out of our vehicles and I told her what the gentleman had said. There was another two women in their large SUV who told us that they were told the same thing. This women had her vehicle filled with brand new items from Target. She said her father was a contractor in Napa and told her to go buy whatever she thought the victims may need brand new at target. She said that the Red Cross told her that she could leave all of her donations, however they would probably be put into a box truck and taken to another disaster. She said she bought these things for the people of Lake county and wanted them to have them. She said she was also asked for a cash donation. We decided to go speak with someone else. The next Red Cross Representative was very kind. He said they could only accept donations that were organized. Ours stuff was all separated, clean, and labeled. I totally understand that the American Red Cross has a system and I respect that however, we were turned away without them even looking at what we had.
We decided to speak with the Napa County Sheriff and he advised us that people inside the camp were in need of items. He told us to pull our trucks into the tent camp and start our own donation center. So we did. And people did need things. We gave away clothes, shoes, toiletries, tents, blankets, pillows, books, candy, toys, and more. Everyone was so grateful and enjoyed being able to talk to someone who didn't have a tragedy in their life.
I know so many people want to help and this is amazing. The truth is they do have enough necessities at the camp. There is plenty of water, blankets, towels, pillows, toiletries, water. What they dont have and want is forms of entertainment. Some good things to collect and bring are children and adult books, magazines, coloring books and crayons, board games, balls, jump ropes, candy and cards. Baby wipes were a hot commodity and people were asking for Qtips. Bring bags of fresh fruit so you can hand out cuties and apples to people.
Other ways people can help is by their trade!!! I read in the paper that a nail technician went and gave people manicures. When I was there a yoga instructor was holding a yoga session and a masseuse was massaging people. Do you know anyone with a mobile dog grooming van? The dogs will need to be washed eventually. Do you know a face painter? The kids would love that.
The NC Sheriff made a good point when saying this camp will be open for at least a month and they will need people to help the entire time. So if you can't help right now help in a few weeks. If you cant afford to bring anything just bring yourself. You don't need permission and you don't need to be trained to be kind to another human being. We are all the same no matter what you may think. We are all human beings. We were made to help each other and to rely on each other. Maybe your role in all of this could be to give out hugs. A hug goes a long way. Human touch and comfort can help people through very hard times.