Dear North Bay Burners,

The last few weeks have been intense with the firestorms and the aftermath. I hope you are all ok, I know a lot of us have been impacted by the fires. For those of us who have lost homes it is a long road to rebuild, but we are resilient, and we have our community to rely on. Those of us who have not had to deal with the fires directly have been out there helping where they can, and the response to the need has been inspiring to see. Volunteering at local shelters, helping to collect and distribute donations, working on cleanup efforts, and supporting those in need. Thank you to everyone who is stepping up in this time of crisis, we see you!

For me it was scary, and the fires came close, but we didn’t have to evacuate and I’m doing just fine. If there is anything you need please reach out on the discuss list and let us know how we can help. If you’re looking for a way to volunteer read on, there is a Burners Without Borders response developing in Santa Rosa. You may have heard about the Oasis Village, created from containers donated by Epic Camp, and set up on land gifted by a local business owner. They will need lots of help, and I know people have been asking what can we do. Read on for opportunities to volunteer as well as resources for those affected by the fires.

Tony is moving forward with his planning for a local Burner event, and he is getting good groundswell. it’s exciting to see people coming together to create a community gathering. More on how you can get involved below. I’m also moving forward with our second year of the shopping cart races in Cotati, see below for more about the first planning meeting for the Cotatitarod.

Stay safe out there Burners! We are thinking of you. Now is the time to rise from the ashes and come together to rebuild. Reach out, step up, and be the change.

xoxo RLL

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Oasis Village Needs You!

Burners Without Borders is creating a temporary housing solution in Santa Rosa for those displaced by the fires. Oasis Village needs donations, more options for housing, and volunteers. They are hoping to open next week if the permits go through, and stay operational for the next year. They’ve already got over 150 people signed up to volunteer, which is great! But there is a need for more volunteers as the project will be ongoing.

All kinds of volunteers are needed, so if you’re interested please fill out the form here:

Volunteer Interest Form

Specifically they need people who are experienced in things like creating community guidelines and orienting new folks as they arrive, and some fundraising rock stars who can help create a program to generate ongoing funds to support this project.

Here is the write-up from the BWB site:

Thousands of people have been displaced by the recent Northern California fires leaving families homeless with nowhere to go. Sadly, there is not enough rental housing available to accommodate the vast housing needs and municipalities are completely overwhelmed. Camp Epic, a theme camp at Burning Man, is gifting ready to use container housing that will house at least 75 people that will include fireman, first responders, nurses, teachers and families with special needs children in Santa Rosa. We’re calling it Oasis Village, and we need your support to make this project a success. This is truly a communal effort and everyone is invited to participate. Please join us!

WE HAVE SET A FUNDRAISING GOAL of $100,000 –
*****DONATE HERE****

• Transportation costs for seven containers to be transported round trip from Reno to Santa Rosa.
• Kitchen Supplies for the communal kitchen
• Attaining and maintaining additional housing units (tents, trailers, RVs)
• If we collect donations beyond our goal it will be used for rebuilding Sonoma County and spent based on the merit and impact of the projects.

Check out the Press Coverage from the Reno Gazette and The Press Democrat

ARE YOU LOCAL? VOLUNTEER WITH US! Please fill out our Volunteer Interest Form

The first housing containers arrive this week. We will need many volunteers over the next several months to support Oasis Village. In the beginning we need people who can help with making the space warm and inviting-setting up shade structures, tables, chairs etc. Once the village is set up, volunteers will be needed for cooking, gathering supplies and many other tasks.

DO YOU HAVE PORTABLE STRUCTURES, RVs/CAMPER TRAILERS TO DONATE?

Portable Structures are needed to provide indoor play/reading spaces for children. We are also collecting the names of people who have RVs to lend or donate. Please Fill out This Form if you can donate any of these items.

I know you’ve all been asking me what you can do to help out. This is it! This project will become a template for other cities and other housing options to be able to set up local response without having to reinvent the wheel. Anything we can do to help Carmen get this project off the ground will really go a long way towards helping those in need all over our region. Mendocino County, Lake County, and other areas not getting as much press are also in need of infrastructure. We are uniquely positioned to be able to act, and as we are getting good cooperation from the city and county the time to act is now!

So volunteer! Donate! Help spread the word! Community network activate – form of a grassroots response that helps fill a gap in services. Thank you for all that you do! Let’s show them how Burners roll.

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Resources for Fire Disaster Relief

If you’ve been displaced by the fires it’s important that you sign up for services and get on the list for FEMA resources right away. There is a Local Assistance Center in Santa Rosa for Sonoma County residents in the Press Democrat building , Downtown Santa Rosa at 427 Mendocino Avenue, between Ross and 5th Streets. They are open daily from 9am-6pm, and they say you need to sign up for FEMA before you head down. Do that online here: Register with FEMA. Or you can call them at (800) 621‑3362 from 4:00am-8:00pm daily.

Redwood Credit Union is also accepting applications for those who need assistance recovering from the fires. You can apply here. The deadline to apply is the end of November, so be sure you get in there and get on the list. You can also do this at the Local Assistance Center, but it has information about Lake, Mendocino, and Napa Counties as well. RCU has also compiled a list of other resources, and FEMA locations here.

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Regional Burn Event Planning

Join the North Bay Burners group on Facebook so you can stay informed about the Burner event Tony has been working on. He’s holding monthly meetings, and you can find his posts and get involved here.

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Cotatitarod 2018 Planning Meeting

The time has come to begin preparing for the next shopping cart race. Come on down to the Flagship Taproom and let’s get the cart rolling.

7pm on Wednesday, November 15th
Flagship Taproom on the Cotati Hub

Bring your ideas, suggestions, enthusiasm, and we will drink some beer and make a plan.

Cotatitarod 2018

Spread the word, proposed date for the 2nd Annual Cotatitarod is Saturday, March 3rd, 2018.

See you there!

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