Help with fire ravished community

[Joshuamunson]

Hi,
My name is Joshua Munson and I am the CEO of team 2996 in Colorado Springs, CO
Some of you might know that right now the western part of my city has been and is still being ravished by an awful wildfire.
They have projected about 450 homes have been lost so far, at least 10 are of friends of mine. I know that with a team comes great responsibility, and I want to help the community. Not for the recognition, not for the chairman's, but because I have a team of 40 kids ready to help their community. Because I have a team that has power in our community, and a team that views the sky as the limit.
I, this being my first year as CEO, need some help with ideas on what I could do.
We have been working with local libraries, a soup kitchen, and have an idea of after the fire, helping the families that still have homes fireproof them, but nothing of this scale.
Please help!
Thank you so much.

-Joshua Munson

[Jay O'Donnell]

This is a truly noble cause, I wish your community good luck in getting through this. I'd suggest fundraising somehow to try and raise money, make sure there is some sort of shelter prepared and help there, and keep spirits as high as possible. If there are other robotics teams in the area who have been devastated by this, I'd think one way to help any kids in that situation is to invite their team to work along side you. All-in-all, just keep the community stable and you'll get through it. I hope to see some great things come from your teams efforts!

[JaneYoung]

Contact your local animal shelters and ask how your team can help. They may be scrambling right now but they should be putting together needs such as clean towels, food, kitty litter, crates... They may want help networking for lost and found animals. They may want help putting together a book with photos and information of animals that have been brought to the shelters and need to be identified/reunited with their owners.

Same goes with the temporary shelters being set up for families. What are the immediate needs and what can you do to help? There are also the firefighters. Do they need a bottled water collection? Will the distribution centers need volunteers?

There are lots of ways you can help your community. Making signs of support for the community, thanking everyone who is pitching in and doing their part - goes a long way in helping to keep up the morale when exhaustion and worry set it.

Our communities helped each other get through the terrible fires of last fall here in our Central Texas area. It was tough but we all found ways to help. Folks will still need help and support for weeks to come. Keep in touch with the groups your team decides to focus on and stay current on their needs as they become known.

If you find yourself in a position to listen, listen. I learned very quickly that people who lost everything needed to talk. They didn't want to whine or complain - they just wanted to talk and share their experience with someone who cared. Sometimes, it's just the simple things - even though you want to do big things, don't forget those.

My heart goes out to all of you. Stay strong.

Jane

[JonathanZur1836]

This is truly a difficult situation, but I am confident that you and your team can get through this. My top piece of advice is to stay calm and to stay positive, a good attitude alongside your work in the community in various areas where you can help out will undoubtedly help your community recover and move forward. We're a bit far from Colorado Springs, but team 1836 is with you.