File Photo by Gary Ananian
Since the Borel Fire devastated the neighboring community of Havilah, among others in the Kern Valley, the Rankin Ranch decided to be part of the broader movement to assist neighbors struggling with loss of property.
Amanda Rankin-Barrett of Rankin Ranch spoke with the Kern Valley Sun, Friday August 23, about the ranch’s two fundraisers to assist their neighbors.
She said, “In the scheme of the Borel Fire we fared a lot better than some of our neighbors. And so we felt like this is an opportunity to try to help them and support the community in a devastating time.”
Rankin Ranch is giving away a quarter, or over 100 pounds of meat as part of the fundraising strategy. Rankin-Barrett said, “A $20 donation gets the chance to win the beef. And that drawing will be held on September the 8th. So tickets are available until that drawing. And the money from that fundraiser will be shared amongst multiple families that were affected by the Borel Fire.”
https://www.rankinbeef.com/pages/borel-fire-relief?srsltid=AfmBOoozRb53XOjEO2KQMcMcHvmD1zQ5C7f4z-nCJUWIn9gIQN-KGkHb
According the Rankin-Barrett her family has been compiling a list of those who have been contacting them, who need help, who were victims. So far $19,000 has been donated to help all the fire victims. She said, “It’s really been humbling the support that’s come, not only from our local community, but across the state, and even some folks from out of state that have contributed, because they’ve seen and heard about the fire and how devastating it was. And our community definitely needs the support to pull through this. And obviously that support comes in a number of ways. There is a lot of organizations that are assisting in this. And we recognize that what we’re doing is very small in the scheme of the need. But it still helps. Every dollar counts. And we’re happy to be able to try to contribute to the rebuilding of our community.”
Rankin Barrett said, “I think the whole valley has felt the strain of the fire in different ways. But we’re a small tight knit community.”
Her family has had several from the community reaching out. And others have reached out on behalf of friends and family. She said, “On our website we’ve compiled a list of GoFundMe accounts to try to have a location that people have a resource to see a list of folks who have been affected by the fire.”
Rankin-Barrett said her family has been adding to the list, which is not yet concluded. “It’s always heart warming to see a community rally after such devastation and come together to support their neighbors in whatever way they’re able to. And I think that the message that we need to continue is just the banding together, and supporting one another, because we are a very unique community, tucked up in the mountains here; and just hope that with the support from the various groups that our community will be able to rebuild and be stronger than it was before,” she said.
The Kern Valley Sun challenges all businesses to consider having employees pool together and have the potential winner share their meat within their pool, like the press is doing.
