Two Rye Residents Raising Funds for LA Fire Relief
Two Rye residents are running a local Rye fundraising campaign to send needed supplies to those impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. Kelly Jancski and Laura Pellegrini, who know each other from summer days at the Rye Golf Club pool when they had small children to now both being involved in Rye Scouts Troop 2, hatched the idea on Tuesday.
Inspired by the local Rye work between the scouts and local American Legion Post 128, Pellegrini reached out to Hollywood American Legion Post 43 in Los Angeles and very quickly heard back from its Commander, Jere Romano. Romano was the lifeline to say what displaced residents actually needed: crock pots to cook (many are in hotels and motels) and food for their displaced dogs and cats.
Jancski and Pellegrini set-up a Venmo to collect donations (Venmo @Laura-Pellegrini-3), posted online and they have already collected $6,000. On Wednesday, they placed a first order with the funds – 50 crockpots and 50 bags of pet food.
“So many people want to do something to help about the fires in LA, but they get overwhelmed, and they don’t just want to, like, send their money into space,” said Jancski.
The funds have come from 20 – 30 people with one donor sending $500. And they report the funds are still coming in. They plan to run the fundraiser until at least Monday. The situation is dynamic, and Jancski said “We’ll see, as long as we have money, we’re going to spend that money on what they need out there.”
Donate to the effort here: Venmo @Laura-Pellegrini-3
