Recent news about the Northern California fires are heartbreaking; many of these firefighters and families can use all the help as possible. So many families have been evacuated from their homes, animals have been left behind, and firefighters are doing their best at trying to contain the fire. With times like these, we should be trying to come together and help out as much as possible.

Being a college student is very costly. Students are trying to pay for their classes, books, rent and so forth. Money is the one thing they try to balance out the most. Students are trying to save the most to their ability and as they should be, but in a time like this, students and non-students alike should donate to the families and firefighters in need.

We’re not talking about donating $100 or so, it’s what you would be able to donate. A simple $2 can make a difference in circumstances like this. And it is not just money that can be donated. Families are in need of food, clothing, bedding and much more. Firefighters need toiletries, baby wipes and food. These are things we can find at our local supermarkets, or even the Dollar Tree.

Items like these aren’t very costly, and with the amount of students that attend our campus, we would be able to donate so much for these people in need. We never really know how good we have it until something like this happens and it shows us what we can do as a community.

Even if it’s not donating something physically, one would be able to donate his or her time. If you’re not able to afford items to take, we can always donate our time to the cause. When something like this occurs, we realize what is important in life, and if we can help out others in a time like this, why wouldn’t we?

Tragedies like these pull communities together. As sad as it is to see why they come together because of the circumstances, there is nothing better than to try and help out others when it’s needed. And as students, we should be able to take the time out of our schedules to help out so many.

We would be able to do so much as a university, and it can even make students come together. You may be able to meet students you have never seen before because they want to be able to help out the same cause. You just never know who may have the same interest as you or even who has the same mind set.

So in this time right now, maybe we could all just be able to use that $5 we have or the time that we use to go work out, to be able to help a family in need, or aid the firefighters who are putting their lives on the line for others.

#CALIFORNIAUNITES