All eyes have been on California this past few weeks as wildfires have raged in multiple parts of the state, burning untold acres of native woodland, and destroying business and residential properties of entire communities in their wake. To this point, 31 residents have lost their lives, with much work to be done before the fires are controlled.
The Board of the California Bluegrass Association has been discussing ways they might help assist members and others who have experiences losses from the fires, but with the flames still searing, it has been difficult to determine an avenue for fundraising or delivery. Already they have learned of artists and pickers whose instruments have been consumed by fire, not to mention those whose homes have been fully engulfed.
As an initial step, the Board has set up a GoFundMe site to collect monetary donations, and has sent this letter to its membership asking for suggestions on how they might best be of service.
Dear CBA Members,
Those of you who live in California are probably aware of the large fires that have displaced over 250,000 people from their homes in northern (Camp Fire) and southern (Woolsey and Hill Fires) California. We already know of several CBA members who have lost everything, including homes and musical instruments.
We are emailing you to ask for any immediate help you might be able to offer those families and individuals affected by the fires. This could include things like clothing, housing, loaning a RV or trailer, or other items.
If you have something that you think would help, we are asking you to go to the CBA Message Board at https://www.cbaweb.org/MessageBoard to participate in the thread we will start for fire victims. If you want to make a private or anonymous donation you can of course reply to this email address.
For monetary donations, please go to the CBA Fire Relief go-fund-me site at: https://www.gofundme.com/bluegrass-fire-relief.
The CBA Board of Directors will be considering other ways we can help CBA fire victims at the next board meeting on Sunday November 18 in Oakland, CA and will update you if there other ways we believe we can help.
We have a strong community of bluegrassers and old time pickers and know that there are a wealth of resources we can bring to help these members. Please keep them in your minds and hearts as they put their lives back together.
Sincerely,
Geoff Sargent
Chair CBA Board of Directors
Suggestions and donations are welcome from anyone in the bluegrass community, not just CBA members.
