Dear VCCCD Colleagues, Students, and Community,
Our hearts are with all of the families who lost their homes, portions of their homes, belongings, and family pets in the devastating Mountain Fire. We are very saddened to share with you that the families of several of our VCCCD employees, students, and retirees have lost their homes to this fire. To help bring some relief and brighten the holidays for our VCCCD families, the Districtwide Mountain Fire Working Group has launched a Holiday Giving Tree relief effort. The gifts received through this virtual Holiday Giving Tree will be given directly to the impacted family members of our VCCCD employees, students, and retirees.
If you and your family have been impacted by the Mountain Fire, or if you are aware of VCCCD employees, students, or retirees who have been impacted, please reach out to Wendy Saunders, Director of Training and Organizational Development, so they can be included in our districtwide relief effort.
We sincerely hope you can help our VCCCD families who have lost so much. It’s easy to help:
- Please go to our Holiday Giving Tree page. You will not need to create an account to sign up to give gifts.
- Look through the available spots on the Holiday Giving Tree list and see what you might like to give to our VCCCD families. In addition to gift cards which provide a lot of flexibility for people who are in temporary housing, you can choose from the specific items drawn from the Wish Lists impacted family members shared with us.
- Press the Sign Up button to select one of the spots to give. Please note that there are unlimited spots available for gift cards and limited spots available for physical items. Signing up for a spot helps to prevent duplicates of certain gifts.
- Please ensure the gift cards or gifts you signed up for are unwrapped and dropped off to the District Administration Center to the attention of Wendy Saunders or Sabrina Canola-Sanchez by Friday, December 20. The gifts will be wrapped and delivered to the impacted family members before the holidays. We can also arrange to pick up your gifts from you on your campus on 12/20 if needed.
- Please spread the word to your family, friends, and colleagues—the more gifts we receive, the merrier the holidays will be for our VCCCD families!
- If you have any questions, prefer to give anonymously, prefer to give cash, or would like to ship a gift or gift card directly to the District Office, all are welcome! Please reach out to Wendy Saunders, Director of Training and Organizational Development, to coordinate.
We thank you so very much for your concern and compassion—and we are hopeful for your generosity in support of our VCCCD families who have lost their homes, are enduring significant loss and grief, and are needing to rebuild again from nothing. Wishing you all warm and loving holidays.