This powerful video captures the voices of our community members and partners on the ground in Los Angeles, sharing first-hand experiences of resilience, loss, and hope amid the devastation.
Disaster Relief Fund Established:
District 5300, which encompasses regions of Southern California and Southern Nevada, has established a dedicated Relief Fund aimed at providing assistance to the victims affected by the recent devastating wildfires in California. This relief effort is being systematically overseen by the Rotary District 5300 Foundation, an organization committed to fostering community support and recovery initiatives. In the coming days, the Rotary District 5300 Foundation will convene a meeting to thoroughly discuss and strategize the most effective and impactful ways to allocate these crucial funds, ensuring that aid reaches those in need as swiftly and efficiently as possible.
Donate to Wildfire Disaster Relief
The Rotary District 5300 Foundation (federal tax id: 95-4768286) is accepting donations to assist those affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles County.
Your donation is tax-deductible and will directly impact those most devastated by this disaster.
Donate by Check
- Please make your check payable to “Rotary District 5300 Foundation”
- Mail the check to Rotary District 5300 Office at:
10624 S. Eastern Ave A16
Henderson , NV, 89052 - Please put “Wildfire Disaster Relief” in the memo line.
What is District 5300 Doing to help?
Since the fires in Los Angeles and Altadena started, Rotary District 5300 has seen an overwhelming number of people interested in donating food, supplies, their time and their money to help with the efforts. The question is how to do it in the most effective way?
We came to the conclusion that, unlike community first responders, our Rotary clubs may not be the organization that’s best prepared to address immediate needs, however, we have incredible resources to support those that do. We are also in the unique position to lead and direct many of the efforts taking place in our community.
In contrast to playing a support role to address immediate needs, Rotary is one of the best equipped organizations to lead many of the longer term efforts of rebuilding our communities and mobilizing the resources needed to make that happen. There’s no doubt that overcoming the effects of the fires will be a focus in our district for years to come.
Because this is a rapidly changing situation, we will need to adapt as it evolves. For now, action needs to be taken to address the immediate needs of those affected, however, we also need to lay the foundation for a long term strategy to begin the process of rebuilding our communities.
Below is a summary of where we are at, what we have done so far, and what we would like to do going forward. Please understand that this is a work in progress, without a doubt, we will need to adapt our response as the situation evolves.
- We’ve been working closely with other Rotary districts and community partners to glean from their experience.
- Our neighboring District 5280 (LA) was impacted by the fires shortly before us. They’ve done an exceptional job in dealing with the issue, so we are modeling much of our response after what they are doing.
- We’ve sought advice from other districts that have dealt with this sort of thing before, for example, Hawaii and how they dealt with the Lahaina fire.
- We have been in constant communication with our contacts in various local governmental and non-profit organizations to assess what they need, and to ask how we can help.
- There is also a Rotary Action Group that provides advice and support for all aspects of disasters ranging from preparedness through long term recovery that we plan to reach out to. [email protected] or [email protected].
- We created a charitable disaster relief fund. Donations are tax deductible and will be used to assist those impacted by the disaster, both now, and in the future. To donate, go to district5300.org
- We have applied for a disaster relief grant through Rotary International
- We have compiled a list of links to trusted organizations where you can find accurate information about the fire and partners that you can work with. This information is on the district website – CLICK HERE.
- We have set up a page on our website to connect those with resources with those who have needs. This centralized resource directory will list Rotarians who can provide lodging, meals, transportation or other forms of assistance with those who are in need. We ask members to upload their offerings along with contact information so those impacted can easily access what is available.
If you are in need of any resources, please fill the disaster relief directory form CLICK HERE