Gays Volunteer In California Fire Crisis

Veteran gay reporter Rex Wockner, a San Diego resident, has filed a heartwarming report about the amazing response of the gay community to the fires that have ravaged Southern California. An excerpt:

None of San Diego's gayest areas was hit by the massive wildfires that roared around the county and the city last week, but GLBT people stepped up in large numbers as volunteers and donors, community leaders said.

"We don't know enough yet to fully assess who among all the affected people happen to be GLBT," said Delores Jacobs, chief executive director of The San Diego LGBT Community Center. "Based on our own staff and other folks' staffs, clearly there were GLBT folks in the affected areas. But I don't think their first thought is, 'My house is burning, I'm gay,' I think their first thought is, 'My house is burning!'"

Jacobs said The Center (the agency's official short-form name) had "a flood of calls" from GLBT people wanting to volunteer to help victims of the fires.

"We directed a huge volunteer response from our community," she said. "We were flooded with how-can-I-help calls from Monday through Thursday -- really an extraordinarily large amount. Lots of our volunteers volunteered at Qualcomm Stadium and at other shelters as well."

Read the rest.
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