As wildfires burn tens of thousands of acres across the state, destroying homes and displacing hundreds, Coloradans are stepping up to help each other.
Groups on Facebook offer to cook a hot meal for first responders or gather money to feed sheltering evacuees. How do you know where that donation is going?
▶️ Denver7's Alex Dowd covers tips for both donors and those seeking assistance
Colorado Spring Fire Department Shift Commander Steve Wilch warns that people should double check any calls coming from someone who claims to be part of a government agency seeking donations.
"You can ask for proof of who they represent," he advised. "Then independently you need to fact check that and make sure that you are giving either to the Sheriff County Emergency Manager's office or through the state of Colorado."
For those trying to support emergency personnel, he warns to stay away from donating home-cooked meals.
"[Firefighters] are on the fire line," Wilch said. "Sometimes those meals are brought in during the morning hours, but they won't receive them for another eight to 12 hours. So, hot meals and meals that the health department can't qualify as safe, we won't get those."
What they do need, according to Wilch, is capped water bottles.
In downtown Denver, Mile High United Way volunteers pack bags with food, hygiene basics and water bottles for their crews on the ground in Southern Colorado to pass out.
Downstairs, at their 211 call center, messages are pouring in asking for more support.
“We've seen incredibly high call volume," said Wade Triechler, Mile High United Way's CEO. "Yesterday we had over 100 calls in queue, which is unusual for us on kind of this time of the month.”
When people in need call, Triechler says they works to connect them with government or nonprofit resources, no matter what that need may be.
When it comes to wildfire resources, they do their due diligence.
“We do very specific intakes to make sure that, this person's home is in a mandatory evacuation zone. They are eligible for x, y, and z benefits," Trichler said. "We work very closely with [Homeland Security], FEMA and the state around how we coordinate those numbers.”
A representative from GoFundMe said their organization has also seen a rise in giving around the Colorado fires.
“We are seeing more and more fundraisers for people who have lost their homes, others who have lost businesses," said Communications Manager Melanie Standage.
Standage says they saw such an increase that they created a dedicated page for wildfire donation drives updated every few hours.
Those pages are vetted, she claims, by tech and GoFundMe employees.
“It has to be clear who the organizer is, as well as the person or the business that they're raising funds for, the organizer's relationship to that person, and then how the funds are going to be used," Standage explained.
So far, she says, they haven't found any bad actors creating a page out of opportunity, and first-responder agencies haven't released warnings either.
Still, many are encouraging donors to double check where they give.
Mile High United Way says they "focus on those three trusted kind of ways to donate." Their Airbnb.org partnership that helps displaced people find shelter through Airbnb credits, their partner organization Southern Colorado United Way and their own 211 help line.
While GoFundMe's Standage offered these tips for donors:
- Review the fundraiser page for a clear story, photo and title
- Understand how the recipient plans to use those funds
- Check how to fundraiser organizer is related to the recipient
- Look for comments from family and friends
That way, help gets into the hands of those who need it most.
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