The cars kept coming, and the number grew to form a line stretching across the parking lot of Mission Valley’s Village Shops.
They moved toward a growing cluster of boxes waiting to be loaded into one of several surrounding U-Hauls.
It was was only three hours into the Donation Drive and already two trucks were on the brink of being filled. With far more donations pouring in than expected, the Mission Valley site’s volunteer coordinator, Yvonne Spinks, informed her fellow volunteers that a semi-truck will arrive in the evening.
In the last 10 days, fires across Los Angeles have destroyed more than 12,000 structures and displaced tens of thousands of people. San Diego residents looking to offer support for the victims dropped off items ranging from skateboards and stuffed animals to baby formula and bath towels.
Organized by Shaback Altruistic Inc. in partnership with World Vision, the donation drives took place Friday at the Mission Valley Mall and North County Mall in Escondido.
The effort, according to Spinks, would not have been possible without nearly 100 volunteers at the two locations.
For recently retired Kumeyaay Elementary School teacher Dana Hess, it was her involvement with World Vision that connected her to the drive. She jumped on the opportunity to volunteer for the day.
When she recruited friends to drop off donations with her, Hess said, she saw an outpouring of humanity.
“I just put it out to an email blast for my friends, and I couldn’t fit it all, one carload wasn’t enough,” Hess said. “Then, three carloads weren’t enough, and then after four, I had my friend come with her SUV. People just kept giving and giving.”
Among the volunteers, there was a sense of surprise at the sheer volume of donations that had been accumulated not even halfway through the event. Hashonda Welch said that she hadn’t expected to see such generosity.
“Just how many people actually have showed up and some brought brand new stuff. Bringing diapers, dolls, toys, stuff for pets,” said Welch. “So it’s not just for one specific age group. A lot of people thought about everybody as far as, like, donating items.”
As Hess helped to unload vehicles, she found herself listening to donors’ stories – stories from those donating because they had experienced a fire themselves or feared for family who lived only a couple hours north or knew of friends who had lost everything.
She felt their pain, Hess said, but found comfort in the care behind their decision to do something.
“It just warms my heart,” she said. “To see humanity being kind again, we need that right now in our world. It’s good to see the kindness coming through.”
