The Vail Valley Salvation Army and the Glenwood Springs Salvation Army have been present at the Lake Christine fire since Tuesday night, providing meals for the first responders, and coordinating assistance with the American Red Cross and local authorities to assist evacuees.
We thank all the people and organizations that have been calling us to offer help by volunteering or donating.
For those of you who would like to volunteer, we are putting together a list of the places where your assistance could be more effective.
For donors, we are only accepting cash donations. Your best and most effective donation is a CASH donation. Monetary contributions also support local economies and ensure that businesses can operate when relief supplies diminish. You can donate as follows:
BY MAIL
Salvation Army Vail
PO BOX 2183
Edwards, CO 81632
Your memo should read: Lake Christine Fire
ONLINE
To help with Fire Relief Efforts, please visit: https://give-im.salvationarmy.org/COFires
In the “Leave a Comment” area, please specify “Lake Christine Fire”.
DONATING GOODS AND SUPPLIES
Although we are accepting cash donations only, in some disasters, The Salvation Army will appeal to people and businesses for donations of specific goods for distribution to disaster survivors.
Please, before beginning any collection effort, contact your local Salvation Army to confirm the need. Get precise information about what products that are needed. Consider shipping arrangements; most charities do not have the resources to arrange transportation. Any goods that donated must be sorted and appropriately packed, palletized and shrink-wrapped before we can ship them to a disaster area.
Donors should be wary of anyone that claims, “everything is needed.” Communities hit by a disaster can be quickly overwhelmed by well-intentioned, but uncoordinated, shipments of donated goods and we often do not have the time, the workers, or money to dispose of unneeded product.