Donate Goods & Gift Cards to CZU & SCU Evacuee
Evacuation Shelters and Other Groups Helping In the Early Weeks Have Lists of New and some Lightly Used Items Evacuees Need
We’re headed to the Santa Cruz / Watsonville area with hopefully carloads of “goodies” for our neighbors who have been evacuated from their homes. When you have next to nothing with you (and in some cases at all if your house & belongings are gone), a toothbrush or blanket take on tremendous value. We’re in regular contact with local relief coordinators and monitor the request lists from the County Evacuation Centers and are churches and community organizations.
We’ll be heading south as needed throughout the week and over to Pescadero for two-three. Please check back regularly for updates as needs change over time and as contributions arrived. If you’re wondering what items will bring a big smile to someone’s face, check below.
We’re trying to expand our efforts across the peninsula & South Bay, so please share widely. Help recruit local donation spots too! To become a collection hub, all you need to do is provide an address (and cell just for us), let people drop donations off, and coordinate with our volunteer transportation company for pickups. Simple! With ease, more people will donate & we can even pickup when needed!
SUNDAY 9/13 UPDATE: Currently have about 2/3 of an SUV full. Will make next trip mid-week or as soon as we have a new carload. Donations to Puente will continue through at least the 20th.
We’re monitoring groups and will likely support a “reverse yard sale” run by neighbors in one of the highly impacted communities so please check back and/or monitor our facebook group.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nhnsmc
Please note: The items needed and locations where they are needed changes rapidly (within days or even hours) as donations come in, needs change as people find or don’t find temporary housing or return home for cleanup. People are moving around as temporary housing changes. We will promise to get items to a reliable charity or good home. We’ll do our best to get them to the place you request, but if their needs change, we’ll take it to another that needs it. If this causes any concern, pleases email volunteer-coordinator@sancarloscf.org. We’re happy to discuss and try to meet your specific requests. Thanks everyone!
Watsonville Fire Victim Donation & Evacuee Centers
STILL COLLECTING NEW ITEMS/GIFT CARDS
114 Walker Street, Watsonville
Site open 10am-4pm Monday-Saturday. Closed Labor Day.
Open at least through 9/17. May be open all month. Check for updates.
For now, Last day for local Peninsula donation drop-off is Thursday, 9/17 at 8pm. Check back to see if we extend again.
Watsonville Requests
Highest priority items as of Sun 9/13 are:
1) gift cards - especially Visa, Costco, Safeway, and Target (probably in this order) and
2) folding camp chairs.
Here’s the updated list of most needed items from Watsonville as of 9/12.
Puente de la Costa Sur
Pescadero
Puente de la Costa Sur helps those in need in Pescadero, La Honda, Loma Mar, and San Gregorio.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors – San Mateo County is doing a drive for them on the Peninsula.
We will take baby clothing - 10 yr old clothing to Puente in Pescadero. You can drop it off locally through 9/20.
Puente Requests
NEW AND LIGHTLY USED / CLEANED - Pleases sort and label by age/gender
Non-perishable snacks
Peanut butter
Boxed/canned meals
Gift cards for Safeway, Target & Ross
Personal hygiene products, toiletries
Masks
Children's clothing (babies to 5th grade)
Shoes
Bottled water
Baby wipes
Books: bi-lingual or Spanish
ALL children’s books collected with
English ones being donated to Peninsula Family Services*)
Kitchen items
Choose local drop spots to safe time, gas & the environment.
See Peninsula drop locations in Local Now section below. If needed, request pickup.
Call or e-mail Max Cohen at (650) 879-1691 ext. 101 or MCohen@mypuente.org with your donation questions or to arrange a Pescadero drop-of if you want to take it to Pescadero yourself.
Local Collection Points
You can drop off the accepted donations (AND only these!) to any of these collection points:
San Carlos
279 Vine Street, San Carlos (Cordes South)
1550 Cedar Street (White Oaks)
2117 Greenwood Ave (El Sereno North)
Redwood City
3452 Page St Redwood City 94063 (very convenient to 101)
Daily, daylight-8pm
Willing to become a collection point so more people will donate? Contact Sandy Kraft.
We love it when you bring it to us & we take it from here, but if you need a pick-up, email Sandy with your name, address, cell/landline, amount of items (pictures great), and when your items will be ready. Someone will reach out to plan the pickup. Thanks!
Thanks for all your contributions to the places below. We made two trips to each. We are currently focusing our donations on the places above this point. Pictures will be shared soon, so you can see your contributions and their interim destination.
Requests from Emeline Evacuation Center - Santa Cruz
1082 Emeline Ave, Santa Cruz
Note: we’re focusing on Watsonvlle now as Emeline will be closing sometime soon and moving everything to Watsonville. Needed items will be similar at both.
For now, Last day for local Peninsula donation drop-off is Thursday, 9/17 at 8pm. Check back to see if we extend again.
Mission Hill Middle School Requests - Done
Mission Hill Middle School
Mission Hill Middle School Gym – 425 King St – Santa Cruz 95060
Enter through parking lot on King St & drive up to back of Gym. Bring donations around the left of the gym to front glass doors facing Mission St.
Gently used & clean items. Odds & ends that would normally go to goodwill, keep. Evacuees don’t have space to keep them, and they also take up a ton of room at the distribution center. Also, NO used stuffed animals, please!
Collection Dates in Santa Cruz: Thurs, 9/10 3-5pm and Sat 9/12 from 10am-2pm
Pickup Event (for recipients: Sunday 9/13 10-4pm - Appointment recommended.
ACCEPTED LIGHTLY USED / CLEAN, WORKING, AND SORTED/LABELED - Please no dumping…Imagine you were evacuated and moving around or in temporary housing. Only give things you’d need in a smilar situation. Save random gadgets, etc. for Goodwill.
More Ways to Make A Difference in the World
Prefer to donate money? Read Great Places to Make a Flexible, Financial, “Fire” Donation
Want to offer your valuable time and skills? Read Fulfill Your Firefighter Dream and Volunteer at a Fire Evacuation / Donation Site
Or Do all Three!