Paradise Strong

Earlier last month, the Northern California Camp Fire hit our community and effectively destroyed the entire town of Paradise, California. Many of our employees and Staff lost their homes and possessions. At least 85 people lost their lives during the fire, with over 100 people missing. The majority of those who perished in the fire were disabled or elderly.

While our community has many programs that can help in a natural disaster, Butte County has a Special Needs Awareness Program that sadly many people are unaware of.  This program includes a reflective sticker that can be placed inside vehicles or on the window of a home that can signal to rescue workers that someone inside may need help. At the time of the fire, only 300 people were signed up for the program. If you wish to sign up visit buttecounty.net or call (530) 538-7538.

Chico and its surrounding communities came together offering a wealth of free services to those impacted by the fire, including food and clothing donations, and temporary housing in some cases. Firefighters came from all over the help combat the fire, including out of state help from Washington, Montana, and Texas according to the Cal Fire Twitter account.

There are a number of agencies still accepting help for this unfortunate disaster. Many of these are accepting donations or are in need or volunteers.

•  United Way of Northern California. As one of the oldest non-profits in the United States, United Way has a long history of giving assistance during natural disasters. Visit norcalunitedway.org if you would like to donate to Camp Fire relief. The main page will take you directly there. Additionally, you can also apply to receive help if you are a victim.

• North Valley Community Foundation. This local foundation through its website. You can also access The Aaron Rogers Fire Recovery Fund through here. The ARFR places an emphasis on high school student-athletes affected by the fire offering support and temporary housing.

• The Red Cross of California. You can still donate to help the victims and their victims but texting RED CROSS 9099 to make a $10 or above donation. Or if you would like to help more directly, you can go to their volunteer page at https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/ to lend a hand that goes a step further.

Little Red Hen encourages victims to be "Paradise Strong" and would also like to thank the many volunteers and organizations that lent a helping hand during this disaster.

If you would like to help the families of Little Red Hen who were impacted by the fire visit our donate page and select the "Camp Fire Relief" option. https://www.littleredhen.org/pages/donate