Nevada County's Robin Hood Fund: Join Us

Hi everyone,

Annually, I hold a fundraiser which is used for what I have recently named the "Robin Hood Fund".

This money is used to help people out of difficult situations, and it can be as simple as not having food and your kids being hungry, to fixing your car, and sending people out to help when you are broken down in the back roads of Nevada County and have no chance of fixing it yourself.

This money, which these fundraisers in the past have provided, has offered a huge amount of services for residents in the past 7 years.

This past year, we were able to do many of the following things without any help from outside governmental agencies or non-profits. These things were accomplished with the generosity of Nevada County residents.

Here's a short list of what has been accomplished in the last 12 months:

Rehomed and placed families in 37 trailers and RVs. This includes taking care of all expenses and locating these warm, safe living spaces in an environmentally suitable location.

Built 7 "additions/ADUs" into existing structures at no cost to the property owners. These new residents pay no more than $400 per month for 2 years, then the property owners can charge existing rents. This gives these new families a chance to save $25,000-$30,000 to be used for the down payment on a home of their own.

Gave 17 cars away at no cost to families that just needed a hand up because of an automotive issue. This aspect of the program assured people that they could get to their medical appointments, go to work to put food on their tables, and keep a roof over their heads.

We were also able to do about 20 different brake jobs for people at no cost. These are people who, with the recent economic times, may have had to make the choice of repairing their brakes or eating.

During the big Snowmageddon in Cascade Shores last year, I was able to directly distribute about 1,300 gallons of gasoline to people who were snowed in and had, after 5 days, run their generators out of gas. We were also able to stop at drug stores and pick up medications and food for residents who had no chance of getting out.

I was able to remove problematic wildlife from people's homes and properties. Now, this past year, we have started referring the rattlesnake relocation activities to other trained people, but we still handle problems that no one else is willing to do. Of course, this work is all done for free for Nevada County residents. If you have a 5' gopher snake emerge from the bottom side of your kitchen refrigerator and can't pay the $400 for someone else to come out, we usually are available to help.

We have repaired about 15 different roofs and fixed other household problems, from fixing water heaters to simple things like changing out switches so you can do your business in the bathroom with a light on.

I have also paid for several hundred people's groceries in these tough times. If I see you standing at the checkout register counting out the money you found under the cushion of your sofa so you'll have something to eat, we will try to help you go home with that $27.31 that you came in with on the 23rd of the month, and you won't get any help for 7 days.

I have also been able to help people who have missed the Nevada County Senior Firewood program, with others like my friend Jeff Singewald, who has been a very generous asset in helping others too. Every year, we help people who may have missed the "sign-up by June" window and make sure that our senior residents are not cold because of not signing up in time or a lack of extra money to buy enough firewood. Typically, we have been able to distribute about 100-140 cords a year to these people, all done for free. Much of this firewood came from members of the Nevada County Realtors Association, who, when their clients are selling their homes, have generously allowed us to distribute this valuable heating resource.

I have also been able to find appliances for people. You don't know how good it feels to find a mom whose washing machine died 5 weeks ago and whose pile of dirty diapers and clothes is starting to look like Mount Shasta, and then be able to place a fully functional washing machine and dryer, saving this family lots of money every month.

Much of this work is done with very little notification, which has developed the building of excellent relationships with my friends, neighbors, and residents of Nevada County, and being able to connect people in a way that builds a better community for everyone in Nevada County.

If you would like to help with these activities and feel that the work that I and others are able to do is important, then please feel free to bless us by donating towards continuing to fund this program, making it a reality for so many, and continuing to help people in Nevada County, our small slice of paradise!