San Diego Wildfires

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your concerns about our well-being. We have escaped unscathed and grow more grateful everyday for our blessings. Neither of us has been evacuated from our homes, and our hearts truly go out to all those who were displaced or lost their homes as a result of the San Diego wildfires.

We have been contacted by many of our charitable friends about what we can do to help. We would love nothing more than to launch a campaign to help all the families that have lost their homes and the ½ million plus families that have been evacuated. However, we feel that immediate relief efforts would be better utilized by joining those that are already going on.

If you would like to donate money, you can donate to the Salvation Army (be sure to specify the San Diego wildfires - all money will stay within San Diego), or to the American Red Cross.

In addition, www.volunteersandiego.com is working with San Diego County, 2-1-1, and the Red Cross to identify volunteer needs in regards to the wildfires. Volunteer San Diego will post and distribute volunteer opportunities related to the fires as they become available. As for donating supplies such as blankets, clothes, toiletries, toys, and non-perishable food to evacuation sites, the best way to know what is needed is to check media resources such as the CBS 8 website to contact the evacuation site nearest you. Last but not least, a crafty idea! You can take a bunch of your scrapbook supplies to one of the evacuation sites and make crafts with the kids there to help them pass the time. Each shelter is under independent management, and the best way to know how to help at a shelter is to visit the one nearest you.

We have unique talents and we CAN use them to help!

Together with It's About Time... Scrapbooks and More in Murrieta, CA, Pink Pineapple Scrapbooks in Vista, CA, and Diva Craft Lounge Radio Show based in downtown San Diego, we will plan a Scrapbook Royalty event in the near future to directly benefit the families whose homes were destroyed. How are we going to help them? The best way we know how. We will crop their photos as a group and help them rebuild their memories. We can also help them replace scrapbooking supplies that were lost. We will get this planned as soon as we can and when it does, we will make a difference in these families' lives the best way we know how, by replacing something that the insurance companies can't! We are brainstorming a way to help them collect photos from their families and friends and get them printed. If this sounds like an event you would like to be a part of, keep reading our emails and we will be sure and keep you posted. For now, we hope you are all safe and our prayers to you all.

--Melanie