Fundraising for Crazyhounddog - Home & Business lost in Paradise CA Fire
jesbroken
Posts: 10,200 ✭✭✭✭✭
I've never done anything like this before and do not wish to break any of our host's rules, but I would like to start or contribute to a fund already started for my great friend, Joe Best. Known as crazyhounddog on the forum this man has been so generous to so many that the devastation that his hometown of Paradise, CA has incurred is heart breaking. I would donate $100, but do not know how to do so. I would like Joe to know that many of us care enough about him to support him at one of his lowest moments. Regardless of any insurance settlements, his family will need much to support them during their evacuation of their home and business. If I am out of line, I apologize, but I feel this is something that needs being done. A little help please with the mechanics of setting up such a fund.
Thank you all and God Bless Joe and his family and friends.
Jim
Edit by @HeaterBoyd:
Please use the Gofundme for all donations found here:
https://www.gofundme.com/bb3nn-paradise-lost&rcid=r01-15417868478-184a2f256b184c05&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_m
from Joe in his original post found here: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1008634/my-town-is-on-fire#latest
We are all alright and physically unharmed. My son and daughter both lost their homes and as you might be able to imagine they are depressed. They just got the news about an hour ago. We can not find anyone that can tell us about our house and our school. Reports we get is that 99% of the town we love so much is gone. I’ll never forget while I was frantically loading up our vehicles for our escape hearing propane tanks exploding and get closer at every boom. That’s when I told everyone to get in their cars and go. We were extremely lucky to get out when we did. Driving out of town gusting winds blowing hot ashes all over our cars as we were going at a snail's pace cause the visibility was about 10 feet.
Words can not express the feelings I have for this forum and the good folks here.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all. I don't know how to say thank you to such kindness and love I see directed to myself and my family.
When I find out more I’ll fill you all in.
Warm regards, Joe and family 
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Comments
Not sure, but I believe you can go online and setup a "GoFundMe" account. Don't know the legalese on this.
Set up the GoFundMe account and link it to this thread. I, and many others, will contribute to this forum member. Great idea
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Let's see what we can do for our friend in distress
I am IN 
Lets ask @HeatherBoyd if we can use her corporate email to send our Paypal F&F?
Let me explain where I am at. I set up an account at GoFundMe and it has turned into quite an event. Much information(such as full names, email accounts and locations of those I wish to request funds from. I am afraid of giving out that much info as it may be reused later for like purposes. Paradisefound recommended to me to just collect the funds here and send them on to Joe. I would feel much more comfortable with this and if anyone else would rather handle the funds, great, I would love it, but I will do it as I started this. She has also contacted Heather to see if she had a better recommendation for handling this. Thanks to all and hopefully we will be able to help Joe.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
The easiest way is to use pp ie ppff to $$fundd it.
Here is the link, guys. Probably best to set up a new thread and ask @HeatherBoyd to sticky it to the top:
https://www.gofundme.com/bb3nn-paradise-lost&rcid=r01-15417868478-184a2f256b184c05&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_m
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
We could all just PPFF to Joe's PP account directly.
Regards
Bob
That's the best idea I've read to date. Anyone dealt with Joe that would have his PayPal address?
That would require everyone getting his email address. I believe Gofundme is free, meaning all of the donation goes to Joe unless you use credit card, which is like PayPal, 2.9%.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
The GoFundMe is READY to accept ...... Thank you all for your generosity!!!!
Two of our daughters got burnt out of their apartment while away at college last Winter. A friend set up a YouCaring account that helped them get back on their feet.
I just was finally able to donate, so all is working just use the address as DCW gave: https://www.gofundme.com/bb3nn-paradise-lost&rcid=r01-15417868478-184a2f256b184c05&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_m
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
The fund has finally started to grow. Thanks for your patience in my ignorance in how to do this. DCW and Paradisefound were great helps.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Hope his herd made it out.
I'm in.
Just contributed!
I tried but will not take paypal.:(
I have made some minor changes to the post and stickied it to the top of the category. the PCGS team is heartbroken to hear that one of our members has been struck by this terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to @crazyhounddog and any others who have been affected by the California fires and mass shooting that have taken place this week.
Heather Boyd
PCGS Senior Director of Marketing
took my donation okay....... very generous members here
Took mine as well.
Good luck Joe.
Wow! I knew this was a great forum!
Edit to add.
Supposedly the former McDonalds in Paradise, CA. Photo supposedly from a member of the 'Oakland Fire Department':
wow
Does anyone know if he had insurance?
Even w/insurance, there is a deductible etc.
I'm in now, Good luck CHD!
Folks,
I just spoke with Joe via email. His son and daughter both lost their homes and have joined Joe. I just saw that we have met the original goal of $1000, but we need to continue. Joe will need all that we can give. He can't thank you enough for your gifts of love and friendship. He has not been allowed to go back to Paradise. They had to leave at a moment's notice with only the clothes on their backs. Not even a toothbrush. Joe's wife is out buying clothes and toiletries as I speak. I wish them all the courage to undergo this horrific challenge and I feel that Joe will overcome these and start anew with his family intact. At least that is my hope. Keep them in your prayers.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Terrible for Joe! How nice with the donations.
Wait until he finds out the Oilolay dude gave him some money! Should bring him a chuckle in sprite of the tragedy!
The before/after pics of McD are heartbreaking.
Stay strong CHD/ Joe.
Got my donation in. What an unspeakable tragedy, folks. And for this to happen to one of our own is just terrible. Terrible!
I hope everyone finds it in their heart to contribute.
I cant imagine what he is going through right now.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Absolutely awful !
I am lucky enough to live in the house I was born in, 70 years ago. I cannot fathom the loss that has occurred to Joe and his family. To be 3 households in the same family to have lost everything homes, personals, valuables, business and all the memorable events captured on laptops, desktops, film, photographs and furniture. Cannot compute. People please help as your finances allow. These wildfires out there are unbelievable, and every year. God Bless all of the people who are in or near the inferno's path. Thanks to all that have contributed and to all those offering their support. I know Joe does.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Five years ago shortly after I had moved to Colorado Springs the Black Forest Fire started about three miles East of the house. Fortunately (for us) the wind was blowing it away from us. The plume of smoke rose straight up about 25,000 feet and drifted East forming a solid wall of smoke. Ended up taking out 500 houses and killing two people who waited too long trying to load up possessions.
Just some thoughts for everyone and crazyhounddog and his kids. I assume that they have homeowners insurance. If so, they will receive some funds fairly quickly to get themselves into a hotel or motel room with a small kitchen set up so they have somewhere to live. They should also receive some money to get food and sundries and some clothes.
The amount of ALE coverage is usually substantial so it should cover a stay during rebuilding. Roofing materials, siding and types of flooring are usually described when the quote was generated so that will help when it comes to rebuilding.
The real bear in the process is remembering, and then substantiating, all of the ‘stuff’ that makes up our lives. Sure, we probably have detailed lists of our collections, but how many plates and cups did you have, and who made them, and what were the makes and models of electronics and appliances that you have had for a while? Very hard to remember it all.
For those who still have homes, it is a good idea to do the following. Start a video on your cell phone and slowly pan around each room of your home. Open drawers and cabinets as you pan around and have a running commentary ie ‘here is the sterling silver bowl I inherited from my mother’ down to ‘here is my linen closet where you can see we have x pillow cases, y sheets that are xyz threadcount egyptian cotton’ etc. once you have done this to every room in the house, upload the videos to the cloud where they can be retrieved even if photo albums and cell phones are destroyed in the fire.
Assuming crazyhounddog didn’t do this, he and family still have resources. Over time they will have taken photos in their home with their phones and likely posted many to social media. Go to your phones and Facebook pages and look for pics that show some possessions and use them to substantiate your claim. Even contact friends who came to parties and see if they have any pics that include any of your possessions. You can usually remember many otherwise forgotten items through these resources. Also contact your credit cards and ask for statements as far back as they provide them. Look through ‘my orders’ histories on any websites you regularly purchased from to gather evidence of your losses.
I would be out of control if this happened to me no matter what resources I had, in fact, I would not be commenting at all... but that's just me.
Jim, thanks for putting this together.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Please consider making a donation to assist Joe and his family.
I just donated. It was real easy. Thank you all and good luck !!!
This is for Joe and his family ..... I am in
I will double it on the next contributor
PM me when you do
I'll put mine in to match yours @TurnoSnail ...... Thank you for your generosity!
Knowing you. You have already contributed so much already. Anyhow, I thought I marked Anonymous Silly me and got trigger happy.
In under Anonymous Mahalo!
Thank you everyone for your generosity on behalf of @crazyhounddog !
I thought I marked Anonymous Silly me and got trigger happy.
I did the same thing. Couldn't figure out how to change it.
You cheated and contributed more than once I bet!
Glad to help a fine forum member and friend. Joe & family will recover and rebuild I am sure. Very fortunate that they are all safe and sound, after looking at some of the video out of Cali and hearing some of the accounts of escapes from the flames (including Joe's).
Thanks Heather B. for pinning this at the top of the list.