My heart goes out to all of those who have been affected by the fires that continue to engulf California.

As I see videos and photographs of the areas affected by major fires, like the Camp and Woolsey fires, I can’t imagine how frightening it is to witness the destruction. With the Camp Fire alone, the town of Paradise was completely wiped out, thousands of buildings turned into ashes, more than six dozens of people have died and over a thousand of others are yet to be accounted for.

Firefighters have been working tirelessly, families have lost their homes, people are mourning over their lost ones as they live in tents. Others have lost contact with their loved ones, and perhaps they will never hear from them again.

No fires have directly hit our community, but they have affected many individuals on campus. Not only that, but the fires have also affected other CSU campuses like Channel Islands, Stanislaus and Chico.

There is no way to measure the heartache or the pain that came along with those fires, nor is there anything I can say to make this situation more bearable. What I will say though is that although we cannot be there to help ourselves, there are ways to aid those who have been affected by the fires.

There are multiple organizations that are accepting donations to help the people affected by the fires. To help the CSU communities affected by the fires, you can donate at www2.calstate.edu/Pages/support-communities-affected-by-wildfire.aspx. You can also donate to the Red Cross, Ventura County Community Foundation, Direct relief, etc.

If you do not have money, you can always donate non perishables or items such as blankets and clothes. Anything helps, even if it is just a $5 donation or a few cans of corn. I urge you to help the victims that have been affected by these fires.

Just think for a second, if you had lost all your possessions, your home and any loved ones, wouldn’t you want someone to help, no matter how small the act may be? A stranger’s kindness can mean the world to anyone, especially someone who has lost everything.v