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Help Sierra Madre Search & Rescue Team with Operating Costs
This Thanksgiving I am fundraising to help the Sierra Madre Search & Rescue team cover its operating costs.
SMSR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, all volunteer organization founded in 1951 to save lives through mountain rescue and outdoor safety education.
The team is a group of dedicated volunteers committed to saving lives in the wilderness.
The team relies on donations for 100% of its operating costs.
What Sierra Madre Search & Rescue Team Does
Team members respond to calls for help 24/7. Search and Rescue services are provided at no cost. The team primarily operates in the steep, unforgiving terrain of the San Gabriel mountains and responds in all weathers, from extreme heat to blizzards. Much of the work - navigating steep, loose slopes; managing helicopter insertions and extractions and handling exposure - is inherently dangerous and the team manages risk through rigorous training and disciplined teamwork.
The team has responded to over 5000 calls in the wilderness and saved many lives.
The Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team is affiliated with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as high-risk, civilian volunteers and accredited through the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA).
Why Am I Asking for Help for SMSR
I've had the privilege of serving as a SMSR volunteer since 2010 and have seen the tremendous impact of the team's work many times. This giving season I am fundraising to support the team, which operates thanks to the generosity of regular people who support the team through their donations.
How Your Donations Have Impact
Every year the team needs community support, primarily to help replenish equipment and supplies that are used in the line of duty. Funds donated to the team are used for a range of needs, typically including:
- Medical supplies. Team members are first responders who care for and stabilize subjects with medical problems and/or traumatic injuries to enable safe extraction from the wilderness environment to a higher level of care. Medical supplies required include bandages, dressings, Coban, splints, slings, cold packs, heat packs and medical gloves.
- Outerwear. While team members are required to buy most of their mandatory personal gear themselves (uniform, insulating layers, sleeping bag, winter hardware like crampons and ice axes), the team provides outer layers - e.g. hard shell jackets - for foul weather. Most SAR activity occurs off maintained trails, often thrashing through spiny, spiky chaparral and steep, rocky ground that takes a heavy toll on team clothing.
- Communications equipment. Mobile phones do not work reliably in the mountains and radios are essential for communications between field teams, the Command Post and air support. Radio batteries need replacing and radio antennae and radio units all take a beating. The radio units are particularly expensive: a APX digital multi-band radio costs nearly $10,000 and a rechargeable battery is $150.
- Technical hardware & ropes. Ropes and webbing get abraded on the terrain and carabiners, pulleys, rope grabs and ascenders all get worn and occasionally lost on operations.
Thanks in advance for any support you can provide!
Even if you’re not in a position to donate, sharing this fundraiser with your network is very helpful indeed.
“Anywhere in the wilderness that someone needs help."
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