Rail Road Flat, CA…Friends of Rail Road Flat School would like to thank many organizations, individuals, and groups for the enormous amount of support and aide that the community of Rail Road Flat has received in the wake of the Butte Fire. While a large amount of RRF was saved, the outskirts were hit hard. The small communities up in the D2 region run into and through one another- we are all connected. Many of us live between Mountain Ranch and RRF, and call both home. Five of our current RRF School Families have lost their homes due to the fire. Additional local families with children in middle and high school, as well as many alumni and community members.
The various sources of donations are far too numerous to mention and remember, so if some are forgotten please forgive and let us know. We would like to thank The Sierra Health Foundation an organization committed to the health and wellbeing of Northern California out of the Sacramento Region, whom contacted Friends of Rail Road Flat School immediately upon hearing about the fire and asked if they could help. Due to their generous support we are able to provide our families who have lost their homes with gas, grocery, and necessity gift cards to use when and how they are able. These gift cards are wonderful since with the loss of their homes the donations they can accept at one time are minimal. We would also like the thank The Resource Connection for supplying many supplies of fresh and non-perishable food, hygiene items and so much more. All the Firefighter who worked tirelessly against this unpredictable fire, the law enforcement who worked to keep us all safe, PG&E and other service providers getting us back up and running, The Burson Full Gospel Church for bringing us truckloads of supplies including home goods, sleeping bags, animal feed, clothes, dishes, and shoes. CUSD for providing each child with a Walmart gift card. Operation Backpacks for Butte by Hazel Fisher School for supplying every student in RRF and Neighboring Schools with a back pack loaded with school supplies. The Red Cross for bringing hot lunch, dinner, and truck loads of supplies every day the first week we returned to school. The Central Calaveras Firefighters for coming to visit our kids along with their chaplain and therapy dogs. The Open Arms Group. The GoGive2Live Group. All the volunteers that have been helping in the donation center, including two amazing gals from Twain Harte who own a retail shop that helped us sift through the piles and get organized. A group from Monterey that brought up a truck load of supplies. The Toyon Middle School Garden Students for the Beautiful Vegetable Harvest Baskets. The Mountain Ranch Donation Station and their amazing team for sharing supplies and info with us. The Sandy Gulch Donation Station for their support and generosity. Many local families, organizations, and businesses who provided supplies and gift cards with hopes of helping their neighbor and this amazing community.
Currently there is a donation station set up in the RRF Town Hall open every day 8-10am, and 3-5 pm. All are welcome to come and get what they need – as we were all affected by this fire. The station will be closing on Oct. 11th. Some items will be kept and re –offered in the future when people are able to store more. Storage is a problem for many who are staying in trailers, tents, and with family & friends. We are still accepting gift cards (most preferred donation), camp items, water containers, tools, good work boots, gloves, and other items. The full list is available on Friends of Rail Road Flat School Facebook Page or at the RRF School or Post Office. Many families are in need of housing and storage at this time. While there are 5 families who have lost their homes, more families are facing hardship due to the fire with evacuation cost, loss of wages, etc.…..
If you would like to donate to Local Butte Fire Victims through Friends of Rail Road Flat School 501c3 please contact Autumn Andahl (209)304-8932 autumnandahl@gmail.com or Rochelle Sweet (209)256-7587 chelle0820@sbcglobal.net PO Box 223 Rail Road Flat, Ca. 95248