State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces Statewide Fundraising Effort to Support Schools Impacted by Wildfires

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is calling for donations today to support students, families, and educators in light of a rash of wildfires taking place throughout the State of California. Tax deductible donations for schools and disaster victims can be made on the SupplyBank.org Disaster Relief Fund web page .

Superintendent Thurmond is currently in the Inland Empire, a region affected by some of the most devastating fires, providing on-the-ground support for emergency response in San Bernardino County and coordinating a statewide call for donations.

“Our school communities are hurting due to the wildfires that are, once again, ravaging our state,” Thurmond said. “Californians are resilient and generous and always have each other’s backs in times of crisis. Let’s continue to come together for our communities in need so they can get back on their feet.”

The nonprofit SupplyBank.org has joined with the California Department of Education (CDE) to collect financial donations and direct funds and resources to areas that need them the most.

Since 2019, Thurmond has secured thousands of donations to help families who have been impacted by natural disasters, enabling securing gift cards to help with housing and gas expenses, food, water, clothing, and school supplies. As a result, support has been provided to dozens of school communities that have been impacted by disasters such as wildfires, floods, and landslides.

Superintendent Thurmond established the first Emergency Services Office at the CDE to ensure that schools have the emergency support that they need during the increasing number of environmental disasters that occur year-round, from floods to fires to earthquakes.

“I am proud of the resilience of our communities, but this does not have to be our future,” said Thurmond. “The current heat wave and high winds are creating tougher and tougher conditions for the brave firefighters and emergency responders who are protecting our communities. We must prioritize a healthy and safe future for California’s families.”

Questions about CDE emergency response efforts can be emailed to emergencyservices@cde.ca.gov.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100