Mariposa Disaster Relief stands ready to assist

A group of local residents have established a charitable, non-profit foundation to provide funding for families that experience significant property loss following natural disaster in Mariposa County, such as the recent French Fire that razed four residential structures.

According to chairperson Charli McCord, “Mariposa County Disaster Relief (MCDR) is a non-profit organization established to specifically provide disaster relief to Mariposa County residents. The entire focus of this organization is for donations and volunteers to provide funds that directly help those affected by disasters and emergencies in our county, both today and tomorrow.”

“The organization’s current focus is to raise funds for families that have lost their homes in the French Fire. Every penny of the funds raised will go directly to these families,” McCord added.

The organization works directly with Mariposa Safe Families to disperse funds that have been raised to impacted residents.

“We have received our Internal Revenue Service non-profit 501(C)3 charitable tax exemption, therefore any donation will be tax deductible for the donor,” McCord said.

“I helped establish the non-profit because of our personal loss during the Detwiler Fire. It decimated our entire ranch, cattle feed, and the homesite with our building materials, as well as personal possessions in storage awaiting completion of the house, barn, and equipment,” she explained.

“We saved the tiny home we were living in (because we live off grid and had generators) with garden hoses. We were living in the tiny home waiting for the completion of the house. Our community donated hay over and over again, (hay that cows would eat, and horses could not, hay that was pristine, hay that was not very usable, but every straw saved our herd),” McCord recalled.

“I noticed that other charities paid so much for their administrative help just to call and ask for donations and local volunteers, and that many of the donations supplied, although very generous, tied the recipient to one source for supplies or relief,” she added. “That was my motivation.”

“When the Oak Fire hit, I started the non-profit in August of 2022 and immediately started asking for volunteers and donations. Twenty local volunteers became directors and/or officers. My goal was that every penny donated by our friends and neighbors would go directly to survivors. All administrative positions and work would be on a volunteer basis. We raised $19,000 in there months and distributed every penny in December of 2022,” McCord detailed.

Anyone who would like to donate can do so through PayPal at Mariposa County Disaster Relief paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=FR6VLNZ9XW4PW. Caring individuals can also send a check directly to Premier Valley Bank at PO Box 1267, Mariposa, CA 95338, listing Mariposa Disaster relief on your check to account number 9800075370 and routing number 107005953. Funds can also be donated through mail in care of Lou Cordero, 5010 Fairgrounds Road in Mariposa.

Contributors are asked to include a return mailing address so a receipt can be returned for your charitable contribution to your community.

For further information or with inquiries, email [email protected].