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“One of the staff from The Arc of Butte county who picked up donations from our chapter actually had his own home burned to the ground. He described getting up in the morning, putting on his shoes when the electricity suddenly went off. But then light came in from his back room. He tied finished tying his shoes only to discover the light was his backyard pine tree engulfed in flames. He went out his door to retrieve things from his carport, but it was on fire. He ran got in his car and followed cars on the main road with all the lanes going in one direction….out of town. He had to drive through flames which were arching over the highway. And here he was picking up donations for other people.”
– Tim Hornbecker, Director of Business Resources, The Arc of the East Bay
Date: November 16, 2018 (Friday)
Time: 1:00 PM approximately
Where: 1101 Walpert Street, Hayward, CA
What: The Arc of the East Bay collects donations of clothing and household items from colleges, schools, businesses, churches, and in neighborhoods. Some are new and some are used, but they have been sorted for distribution to the Paradise Fire Victims through The Arc of Butte County’s thrift stores in Chico and Oroville.
Contact: Tim Hornbecker, Director of Business Resources, The Arc of the East Bay Cellphone 1(415) 850-8037 timothyhornbecker@arcalameda.org , 1101 Walpert Street, Hayward, CA
The Arc of Butte County is sending a large box truck to pick up donations of clothing and small household items from their sister organization, The Arc of the East Bay. The 21 local chapters of The Arc work closely together advocating for the rights of children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. They provide job training, employment, respite care, education, housing and health services in California and throughout the United States with 650 local chapters.
Ron Luter, CEO and President for The Arc of the East Bay (formerly The Arc of Alameda County) said, “We all need to work together in these difficult times, especially when there is one of the worst fire disasters in our state!” So Luter decided to deploy an available surplus of already sorted clothing (men, women, children, and babies), boxes of shampoo and personal hygiene products from local businesses, inflatable mattresses, and small household items to help families get started again. The donations will be distributed by The Arc of Butte County at their Chico and Oroville thrift stores at no cost to the Camp (Paradise) Fire victims. “We are simply sharing the generosity of our community in the East Bay with families in Butte County,” said Tim Hornbecker, Business Resource Director for The Arc of the East Bay. Even though the Butte County chapter’s Day Program building and former thrift store in Paradise burned to the ground, their executive director, Tom Leonardi, expressed deep gratitude “that all of their staff and clients with developmental disabilities are safe. Buildings can be replaced, but not people.”