The Throwing Starfish Foundation was lucky enough to receive a grant from North Valley Community Foundation to continue our work directly assisting victims of the Camp Fire. Our goal is to always try to find tangible ways to assist the survivors we work with. Below is a breakdown of how our first $20,000 NVCF Grant was distributed. We have excluded the names of the survivors we helped, for their privacy. Please feel free to contact us at info@throwingstarfish.org for more details.
$4901.72 in Tools and Lowe’s Gift Cards
Joe is a contractor who lost all of his tools in the Camp Fire. We were able to replace most of his tools as well as provide him Lowe's gift cards so that he is able to buy more tools and supplies as needed. He is excited to get back to work and continue providing for his family.
$3788.53 in Debris Removal, Bunk Bed, Matresses, Wishlist, Rent, Food
A young couple has taken in 5 of the man’s siblings (ages 5-17) following the Camp Fire. They are fighting to keep custody of the kids and need to get their house set up to pass the CPS inspection. This required a lot of junk removal, new beds, and a lot of financial support. We got them set up with junk removal, which made room to start setting up the house. They were able to find all but one set of bunk beds. So we purchased the bunk bed and new mattresses for them. Then we covered their rent for this month ($1500) and gave them cash for food ($500). We also asked them to set up an Amazon Wishlist of home items and we purchased their entire list.
$2500 in Visa Gift Cards, Gas Gift Cards to Assist in Move
A family has been offered a new beginning in Idaho. They have a place to stay, as well as a full time job waiting for them there. They also have two horses they are transporting to their new location. We provided the family with $2000 in Visa Gift Cards as well as $500 in Gas Cards to help them pay for their trip as well as expenses they will encounter once they arrive.
$1500 in gas cards
SPARC is a donation hub (www.sparchelp.org) in Placer County. They are using St. Matthew Church as the hub location. There are a lot of Camp Fire survivors in the Roseville/Rocklin area and SPARC is a great place for them to find support as well as food, clothes, furniture, and household items. We donated $1500 in Gas Cards to the hub because they have regular contact with victims who are in need of gas cards. Many are still commuting back and forth from Placer County to Butte County. All survivors are vetted via ID and FEMA number.
$1000 in Money for Gas/Rent
This family consists of a mother, father, three biological children, a neice, a grandmother, and a disabled uncle. They relocated to Oroville after the fire, but still commute to Chico for work. We sent $1000 to this family to help with gas and rent.
$393 in Car Repairs & $750 for Gas/Rent
This woman escaped the fire with her mother. They both lived in her mother’s house in Paradise and the agreement was that this woman would inherit the house eventually. Now that the house is gone the insurance money is going to pay for the care of her mother in a nursing facility leaving this woman with limited funds and no home. She has joint custody of her son and her car was breaking down, so she couldn’t make the trip to see her son on her assigned weekends. We payed for her car repairs, as well as sent her gift cards for spending and gas ($500 Visa/$250 Gas).
$1111.92 on Amazon Wishlist
This family of 5 has found a place to move, after 3 months of being displaced. We purchased a majority of their Amazon Wishlist to help get them set up in their new place. The list included home goods as well as gift cards for food and spending. We’ve found that Wishlists are a great way to provide for families, because they can add the items they know they need and the delivery is quick and efficient. Also, there is something very exciting about having boxes of new items delivered to you after struggling through so much.
$1000 in Gift Cards for Rent
This single mom lost her husband to cancer a few years ago, then lost her home to the Camp Fire a few months ago. She as an apartment and a job in Chico, where she is living with her two boys. We are offsetting the cost of her rent with two $500 gift cards.
$1500 in Rent
This single mom has been living in a hotel for three months. She finally found a room to rent in Chico for herself and her two small children. She has a job starting in April, so we paid her $500/month rent through that time.
$1136.92 in Laptop and Amazon Wishlist
This family of 5 are Camp Fire Survivors. The mom has decided to go back to school to help provide for her family. We purchased a laptop for her, to assist with her studies and online classes. We also purchased clothes and other items from her Amazon Wishlist.
$500 in Gift Cards for Utilities
This single mom and her two boys acquired an RV after the fires destroyed their home. Unfortunately, they are having trouble getting power and utilities to the land where they are parked. We provided a $500 Visa Gift card to help offeset some of the costs of running their generator.