More than $100 million has been donated to victims of the Los Angeles wildfires through a GoFundMe campaign, a popular crowdfunding platform that verifies all accounts to protect against fraud.
A company spokesperson said the large outflow of funds will directly support families, communities and businesses affected by the fires, and support local relief efforts such as World Central Kitchen, Direct Relief and the Salvation Army. The project will support non-profit organizations that carry out activities.
More than 100,000 residents have been forced to evacuate after wildfires, initially sparked by hurricane-force winds, destroyed more than 10,000 buildings in coastal areas near Los Angeles. The fire killed 25 people and left 26 missing.
The scale and scope of the damage shocked people around the world who opened their hearts and wallets to help those affected.
Among those receiving donations through the GoFundMe campaign are John Stahlman, 53, a fire inspector with the Los Angeles Fire Department, and his wife Monica, who lost their home of 17 years in the Eaton Fire that devastated their hometown of Altadena. There were too.
“It's ground zero. It's like a bomb hit,” Monica Stahlmann told the Post.
“It’s like Beirut or something.”
Monica Stahlman told the Post that LAFD officers helped her and her husband search through the wreckage for valuables, including a wedding ring and wedding dress.
“The firefighters came to find my jewelry, but everything melted,” she said, breaking down in tears.
John Stahlman is memorializing other treasured heirlooms, including his Marine Corps uniform and his father's uniform.
“The only thing we had was the clothes we had left behind,” he told the Post.
Monica Stahlmann said the property she and her husband lost “cannot be recovered.”
“It was gone in an instant. Our lives changed in an instant,” she said.
Mr. and Mrs. Stuhlman and their dog Winston are staying with a friend. In the meantime, they are asking for donations through GoFundMe.
As of Thursday, Their campaign raised $5,435 Towards a goal of $24,000.
Dale Short, 91, lost his Pasadena home of 60 years.
“I have 60 years of memories in that house,” Short told CBS News while standing just a few feet away from the burnt ruins.
“I haven't really felt it yet.”
of A GoFundMe has been started for Short More than $103,608 was raised, including $5,000 in anonymous donations.
This financial relief comes amid several scams, including one that uses false social media campaigns to solicit funds.
Friends of natural dye artist Erin Berkowitz launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise enough money to replace lost materials and art supplies the day after last Tuesday's inferno set her Altadena home on fire. Ta.
But the next day, she discovered someone had created a carbon copy of the same campaign using a fake Instagram account with her information.
The fake campaign looked authentic, except the web page URL was slightly different. Berkowitz and her friends and relatives reported the fake fundraiser, which was deleted within 24 hours, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“To deal with it in the worst moments of your life, like the scariest, most upsetting, saddest moments of your life,” she told the Times.
“It was very worrying and stressful for something like that to happen.”
GoFundMe says it has a team that monitors and verifies fundraising efforts.
“We have zero tolerance for abuse of our platform and will cooperate with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing,” a GoFundMe spokesperson told the Post.
“Abuse on GoFundMe is extremely rare. Donors are also protected by the GoFundMe Donation Guarantee, which guarantees donors a full refund if something goes wrong.”
GoFundMe, which launched its own crowdfunding campaign aiming to raise $5 million, is a dedicated online website that makes it easy for people to find campaigns to donate to, or start their own campaigns for families in need. A hub has also been launched.
“Our California wildfire centralized hub houses all verified GoFundMe pages and nonprofit resources related to Southern California wildfires and provides an easy way for people to help.” a GoFundMe spokesperson told Yahoo Life.
