AMERICAN FORK, Utah — With the ongoing devastation of the Southern California wildfires, the people who work and volunteer at a Utah organization that provides humanitarian aid to others are doing what they can to help meet the needs of those impacted.
"The knee-jerk reaction when seeing all that devastation in California is immediately one of sympathy because when people are going through hard things, I think a lot of us can relate," explained Renae Kingsley, volunteer coordinator at Lifting Hands International.
Out of its American Fork warehouse, the non-profit gets needed supplies to people around the world in times of crisis. This week, Kingsley got her volunteers right to work putting hygiene kits together for people in the Los Angeles area.
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Those kits come with a special card.
"They say you are loved, or sent with love, or we’re thinking about you," Kingsley explained. "And the reason why these are so important is because one, it helps people know that we’re thinking about them. Individually we don’t have to know each other in person to care for each other."
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Along with the hygiene kits come an array of other basic items that Lifting Hands International plans to ship to California. Those needed items and ones the organization counts on getting through donations.
"Urgently needed are diapers, tampons and pads for women," said Kingsley. "Especially N95 masks, those always a huge need for masks in situations of wildfire, and blankets are always needed. So those are the highest volume, things we'll be sending to California in addition to our other supplies such as clothing and school kits."
On top of the donations, Lifting Hands International counts on volunteers like Chris Graham, who just so happens to be in his first week lending a hand and already sees how the organization is making a difference.
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"In this, probably some of the worst times of their lives, you know that it gives at least that little ray of sunshine, and that people are out there looking out for them and giving them what they need right now," Graham shared.
The motto of the organization is that they’ll work to meet those needs for as long as necessary.
"We don’t have a deadline for our assistance," Kingsley said. "We help as long as help is needed. We’ll do what we can to meet that need."
