The Black Forest fire fueled volunteerism in the community. Amanda Davisís home escaped unscathed, but she, too, had a desire to help her neighbors. Davis established Crosses for Losses; and, in the beginning, raised $5,000 for the Black Forest Fire/Rescue Department.The organization quickly grew to provide all kinds of assistance to victims of the fire.As part of her fire mitigation efforts, Davis cut down a number of trees on her property and began creating crosses from the felled timber. The timber for the crosses is also gathered from the burnt trees. The crosses garnered plenty of support ñ and sales. Because of its success, Davis is seeking a 501 (c) 3 designation to continue to raise funds for many ongoing areas of need in the community. According to the Crosses for Losses website, the organization provides some type of assistance to 138 families and 390 individuals each month.They operate out of building across from the Black Forest Community Center. Davis said the owner of the building, Alicia Munson, provided free rent for the first three months of operation. ìEverything we have in here is free,î Davis said. ìWe see anywhere from 15 to 30 people a day.îShe said current costs to operate are kept to a minimum at $1,200 a month for rent, utilities and Internet costs. Crosses for Losses is run 100 percent by volunteers, Davis said. During their first two months, she said volunteers logged in more than 6,000 hours.As Thanksgiving approaches, Davis said they plan to provide boxed meals to those in need in the community; and they hope to sponsor a home-cooked dinner event as well ñ location yet to be determined.Davis said food donations are their biggest need at this time.They suggest donations for their crafted crosses at $5 for small, $10 for medium and $20 for the large ones. Davis said customized crosses are available, too.For more information, visit the website at http://crossesforlosses.org.
