Recovery from the Montecito mudslides and debris flows will be a long process, and local residents want to help however they can.
There are ways to donate, volunteer and otherwise support families who have lost loved ones, people who have lost their homes, and the emergency response effort.
Counselors can donate their time by calling the Santa Barbara County call center at 833.688.5551 and asking to speak to the community wellness team, which is gathering a list of volunteers.
The United Way of Santa Barbara County and United Way of Ventura County fundraising effort for Thomas Fire victims has been expanded to include flood victims, the organizations said this week.
All donations to the United Way Thomas Fire and Flood Fund go directly to people impacted by the disasters, they said.
As of this week, about $2.7 million has been raised for the fund.
Donations can be made online here, by texting UWVC to 41444; by calling the Ventura office at 805.485.6288 or Santa Barbara office at 805.965.8591.
People can also send in checks directly, with “Thomas Fire Fund” in the memo.
The United Way of Santa Barbara County: 320 E. Gutierrez St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
The United Way of Ventura County: 702 County Square Drive, Suite 100, Ventura, CA 93003.
Santa Barbara County released a list of verified organizations that are accepting monetary donations and needed items:
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County: Monetary donations, nonperishable foods, and fresh produce are accepted at:
» 4554 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara
» 1525 State St., Ste 100, Santa Barbara
» 490 W. Foster Rd., Santa Maria
The Foodbank also has emergency food distribution sites for people who have been displaced from their homes or are facing economic hardships from lost work after the Thomas Fire and Montecito floods. They need volunteers, too.
Salvation Army: Unopened and canned food and monetary donations are accepted at 423 Chapala St., Santa Barbara.
Unity Shoppe: New clothing, shoes, blankets, toiletries and monetary donations are accepted at 1401 Chapala St., Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara Partners in Education places volunteers in local schools, and people can sign up online. Schools and nonprofit organizations can also request volunteers.
In light of recent disasters, the community’s needs are changing, and Partners in Education will need to adapt to meet new requests for volunteer support, Executive Director Chelsea Duffy said in an email message. Contact the organization for more information, at partners@sbceo.org or 805.964.4710 extension 4401.
The United Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara County says that any children who have been displaced can come to any of its club locations. The clubs are a place for kids to go if their parents are at work and making a longer commute than usual, said Erynn Wanek, vice president of development for the organization.
Monetary donations can also be made to agencies supporting the disaster response for the Montecito Flood, including the American Red Cross and Direct Relief. People can also sign up to volunteer through the Red Cross’ website.
There are several grassroots efforts to collect needed donations for families who have lost their homes or are evacuated, including a Santa Barbara Helpers site connecting families in need directly to people who can help.
Fundraisers
Several fundraisers for victims and their families have been set up through GoFundMe and other websites, and some of the links are below.
Noozhawk has not independently verified these accounts, and urges everyone to use their own discretion when deciding how to donate.
“If you are wanting to financially support the incident, please be advised that individuals often take advantage of the situation by setting up false GoFundMe websites and other types of fundraising accounts that are not legitimate,” Santa Barbara County officials noted. “If you are interested in donating to help in an incident, call and verify that the beneficiary is authentic.”
The Benitez family:
Multiple accounts have been created for the family, which lost several family members in the mudslides including Marilyn Ramos, 27, Jonathan Benitez, 10, Kailly Benitez, 3, and Faviola Benitez Calderon, 28, is still missing.
There is a GoFundMe account created by Lori Lieberman of Santa Barbara, another one by Lorena Penaloza of Santa Barbara, a friend of the family, and a third one created by Pamela Viale of Goleta.
The Corey family:
Fundraising accounts have been established for the Corey family, for Carie Corey-Baker, and specifically for Morgan Corey’s funeral expenses.
Morgan Corey, 25, and Sawyer Corey, 12, died in the Montecito mudslides, and their sister, Summer, and mother, Carie, survived, according to the families’ fundraising accounts.
The Corey family fundraising page is for Morgan Corey’s biological parents, David Corey and Teresa Owens, and the other fundraising page is for Summer and Sawyer’s mother, Carie Baker-Corey, according to the families.
Martin Cabrera-Munoz:
A fundraising account has been established for Martin Cabrera-Munoz’s funeral expenses by his brother, Joel Munoz of Santa Barbara.
Peter Fleurat’s family:
A GoFundMe account has been created for Peter Fleurat’s longtime partner, Ralph “Lalo” Barajas, who also lost his home in the mudslides.
The McManigal family:
A GoFundMe account was created for the family by John Brontsema, originally to benefit the family of John McManigal, 61, who died in the mudslides, and his son Connor.
The account had raised almost $100,000 as of Thursday night and the McManigal family said in an update on the page that all the donations would be going instead to the Benitez family.
“We are so appreciative of the outpouring of support from each and every one of you. While our family faces a long road ahead, financially we will come out in much better off place than others that have been effected by this tragedy,” the family wrote in a message.
“As part of the healing process and to honor our Dad, my family wishes to help the Benitez family who we grieved with in the hospital. They face a large uphill battle with no means, little financial support, and mounting costs. I know that you have donated with the intention of the funds being used by our family, if you would like to pull your money out, we 100% understand. Please know all donations will be made in your name to this family and their need is much greater than ours.”
The Sutthithepa family:
A fundraising account for the family was created by Mike Caldwell, Pinit Sutthithepa’s work supervisor at Toyota of Santa Barbara.
Pinit “Oom” Sutthithepa, 30, his son Peerawat, known as “Pasta,” 6, and his father-in-law, Richard Loring Taylor, 79, were killed in the mudslides, and his 2-year-old daughter, Lydia, is still missing.
Sutthithepa’s wife, Yuphawan, who is known by Aw, and mother Banphoem, known as Perm, were reportedly working at Vons at the time and survived.
Another family member was in the home at the time of the mudslides and was rescued, according to Caldwell.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.