As an all-volunteer, tax-deductible community organization, we at the Advocates for Arden Arcade are always grateful to receive your kind donations that help defray our social media and other costs. This coming Tuesday, November 27th is the annual Giving Tuesday, for which you are invited to use the donation button at the lower part of our home page. But, frankly, there are some very, very needy people and organizations not far north of here who could REALLY use your help. While we here may have suffered a bit from the smoke that drifted down from the Camp Fire, the recent rains have driven it away and, hopefully, put out the fire for good. Meanwhile up in Butte County, lives have been lost, property has been destroyed, and the search for missing people continues. There are thousands upon thousands of evacuees couch surfing with friends and relatives, camping in rain-soaked parking lots, and huddled together in crowded shelters. They face the daunting, stressful tasks of rebuilding their lives, communities, and businesses — challenges that will go on for a very long time. Fortunately, there are some wonderful organizations in the Chico area that have rolled up their sleeves to help and are in need of donations now and into the future. Here are links to a few of them:

• North Valley Community Foundation - https://www.nvcf.org. This is the central hub for fire victim recovery. Chico native and Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rogers has put $1M into the fund. That might sound like a lot, but it doesn’t come close to meeting the need.
• Rebuild Honey Run Bridge - The Honey Run Bridge Association is beginning a campaign to reconstruct the iconic covered bridge over Butte Creek that was destroyed in the fire. As part of their initial effort, they have some cool shirts, hoodies, mugs and tote bags at https://shop.spreadshirt.com/rebuild-the-bridge that would be excellent as Christmas presents.
• North Valley Animal Disaster Group - https://www.nvadg.org The evacuation of the Town of Paradise and rural communities like Magalia, Concow and Pulga did not allow time to get pets and livestock out of harm’s way. Some animals perished tragically in the fire, yet others escaped on their own or somehow survived. The North Valley Animal Disaster Group is seeing to their care and rehoming.
• Sierra Nevada Resilience - https://www.sierranevada.com/resilience-butte-county-proud-ipa Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is one of Butte County’s largest employers and is very community-oriented. They have begun a long-term campaign to brew a special beer for which all profits will be delivered to the Camp Fire Relief Fund. They have given the recipe to craft brewers across the country to expand the reach of the fundraising effort.