LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A donation drive for the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires hosted by a Las Vegas Valley Jewish temple has many residents coming to help.
“This community comes out when there’s something going on,” Cantor Jessica Hutchings with Congregation Ner Tamid told FOX5 Monday morning. “[When] there’s a crisis, we can count on people to show up.”
Hutchings knew she could count on the people of the valley to help when called upon.
“I wanted to be able to get some things that folks might need… imagining if it were my family, like, ‘What would we need?’” Rachel Herzel-Betz, who donated. “I wanted to get some kids things like toiletries.”
Rachel was inspired to give partly because of her ties to the area.
“A lot of folks have connections in LA here,” she said, referencing her childhood rabbi. “She is now a rabbi in Southern California, and they lost their home.”
Corey Toushin donated for similar reasons.
“I’m personally from LA,” he said. “I have a lot of family and friends there, so it devastates me.”
Toushin also focused on daily must-haves when deciding what to give.
“I brought just the essentials,” he said. “Toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, bar soap, a bunch of pillows, teddy bears for the kids, and some blankets just to keep people comfortable.”
On top of the donations, Herzel-Betz has a message to the people suffering in Southern California.
“I hope that they know that there are folks that are thinking of them, that they haven’t been ignored,” she said. “There are folks that are trying to help.”
The drive, located at Congregation Ner Tamid on Valle Verde just north of I-215, is open until 5 p.m. Monday, and will open again from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The donations will be brought to Southern California Wednesday morning.
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