Showing Up When Needed Most

It’s often said that many American families are one medical emergency away from a serious financial crisis. Well, the same goes for natural disasters.

Imagine for a moment ... your family survives a horrible wildfire but your home burns to the ground and you lose everything. Your house, furniture, clothes, car, photos and family heirlooms, everything. You and your family are living in a hotel until you can save enough to move into a real home again and start to rebuild your lives.

This is the reality facing many of our Bay Area neighbors in Napa and Sonoma counties—and the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund is working with our local partners to help.

This year, the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund is investing an extra $280,000 to meet the needs of people whose lives have been upended by the Napa and Sonoma fires. This is in addition to the nearly $1 million the Fund provides year after year to our partners in those counties for other critical assistance needs.

Now in its 31st year, the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund has raised $120 million to help thousands of Bay Area families facing temporary crises in their lives. Through a network of 150 community service agencies, the Fund works to identify families in need and provide short-term grants for critical assistance. The Fund also supports area food banks and distributes nearly $1 million each year to help people and families who might otherwise go hungry.

Joining in the relief efforts for the victims of the 2017 wildfires is a natural—and necessary—extension of our work at the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund. We’re thankful to have such great partners in Napa and Sonoma counties who can help us identify and support families in need.

Just because the fires are out doesn’t mean the enormous challenges facing residents of these counties have gone away. Thanks to the remarkable generosity of thousands of donors across the region, the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund continues to help people and families in Napa, Sonoma and throughout the Bay Area.

To find out more about how to give to The Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund and our local partners across the Bay Area, click here.