SPOKANE, Wash. — Fire victims in Spokane will have access to multiple donation centers this weekend as community members from across the region step forward with relief supplies and financial assistance.
Jenise Mirelez, who grew up in the Rifle Club Road area, organized one of the major donation distribution efforts. She traveled from the West Side to set up a donation center using her sister’s place in Spokane Valley as a staging area, partnering with Caritas Food Bank to make donations available to those in need.
The Caritas Food Bank distribution will run Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will feature a wide range of items collected from communities as far as four hours away. Donations include clothing in all sizes from infant to adult, baby supplies, toys, and backpacks.
Mirelez said the volume of donations she received has been remarkable. “I don’t even have words to explain that there is this much love in a community that is four hours away to help our neighboring city like its just….its…I don’t even have words for it,” she said.
The effort reflects Mirelez’s personal connection to the community. “This is where I grew up, these are my people. These are my friends I went to highschool and college with, like I had to do something to give back to the community that has helped me become the woman and the mother that I am,” she said.
A second donation center is being organized by local pastors through Family of Faith Community Church. Rather than distributing physical items, this location will provide gift cards to fire victims who register through the United in Crisis website at UICGS.org. The amount of each gift card will depend on family size, allowing victims to purchase what they need most.
The church will also have volunteers on hand to provide emotional support to those affected by the fires. Daniel Geraci, executive director for United in Crisis, acknowledged the emotional toll the disaster has taken on survivors.
“For those that are feeling overwhelmed, with all your emotions just all over the place I want to tell you thats completely normal for normal people in an abnormal situation,” Geraci said.
Family of Faith Pastor Danny Green offered his church as the main site for the operation. “I’m here to just help and support them, the people, and give them that offer you know just that there’s hope. There is hope even through this hard, hard time,” Green said.
Both donation centers open Saturday morning, giving fire victims multiple options to access the resources they need during this difficult time.
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