LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Sonoma County supervisor and his wife have raised nearly three quarters of a million dollars' worth of donations and commitments in their effort to aid the victims of the Valley fire.
Supervisor James Gore and his wife Elizabeth were galvanized to get involved after he toured the fire area during the first week of the incident with Lake County District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown.
“You can't go and see that and be unchanged,” Gore told Lake County News.
The result: At his annual fundraiser last Sunday, Sept. 20, in Alexander Valley, Gore announced that they had raised approximately $723,149 in commitments from companies around the region.
Elizabeth Gore reported in the days after the event that they raised nearly $12,000 more at the door of the event.
“We're going to try to make this just be the initial drop in the buck. A big drop,” said James Gore.
Brown added, “It's incredible what they did.”
Gore was elected to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors last November, representing that county's District 4.
Gore's district includes northwest Santa Rosa, Fulton, all of the Larkfield-Wikiup area, the town of Windsor, the city of Healdsburg, the community of Geyserville and the city of Cloverdale, and Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Lake Sonoma, much of the Russian River and The Geysers.
That district borders the part of Lake County that Brown represents.
Brown reported that an estimated 50 Sonoma County families in Gore's district lost homes.
Brown said Gore reached out to him in the days after the fire broke out, and he invited Gore over for a tour of the fire area.
Gore joined Congressman Mike Thompson and Brown as they drove around the fire area in Brown's pickup.
The experience, said Gore, “was just heartbreaking and jaw-dropping.”
Brown pointed out to him just how much work it will be to get back to a place where the process of rebuilding can start.
The conclusion for Gore: “Our Lake County neighbors are in dire need.”
He said he also admires Brown for his efforts. Noting his colleague's 25 years in elected office, Gore said, “All of that experience comes down to this moment for a lot of people.”
After the tour, the Gores began their efforts.
“It's not something you can leave from without having a call to action in your own heart,” said Gore.
They took his annual fundraising event on Sept. 20 and turned it into a Valley fire benefit.
During the days ahead of the fundraiser, Elizabeth Gore “worked her tail off,” her husband said, making phone calls to companies to get commitments.
When they reached out to the many companies and organizations, “Nobody said no,” James Gore said.
Among the biggest donations were those from wineries, Gore said.
Kendall Jackson – which had started out in Lake County in the early 1980s – pledged $150,000. Gallo is giving $100,000 to the Red Cross. Constellation Wines is offering to make a match of $150,000, with Coppola offering a $20,000 march.
Other wineries making donations included Silver Oak, $10,000; Duckhorn, $10,000; Williams Selyem, $5,000; and John Jordan, $1,000.
A $200,000 match has been pledged by Safeway, with $60,000 from American Ag Credit, $5,000 from Sonic, $5,000 from Airbnb, $1,000 from Hal Hinkle, $1,000 from the Redwood Herbal Alliance, $1,700 from the HGB Sunrise Rotary, more than $2,300 from local football teams, and several other small donations.
In addition, Elizabeth Gore was able to get commitments for proceeds from employee drives from Yahoo, Google, Airbnb, Uber, Intuit, Salesforce, Autodesk and Shed.
“It was amazing,” James Gore said.
The fundraiser last Sunday night had up to about 400 attendees, Gore said. Congressman Mike Thompson was on hand, and Gore even convinced Brown to come over for the event.
That's when Brown found out what the Gores had managed to do. “I'm glad I went,” he said.
Gore said the majority of the donations will be directed through the #LakeCountyRising relief effort launched by the Lake County Winegrape Commission, the Lake County Winery Association and the Lake County Wine Alliance.
“We're thrilled at the outpouring of support that we've seen over the last week and a half from the industry and beyond,” said Lake County Winegrape Commission President Debra Sommerfield.
She said the effort was put together as a way to assist the Lake County Community in its long-term rebuilding efforts.
Sommerfield said Gore reached out to them on the morning of Sept. 19 with an opportunity to announce the effort at the fundraiser the following night.
She said the groups are excited to hear about the momentum that's being built around this in such a short time.
Sommerfield said the #LakeCountyRising team is working with Terence Mulligan, executive director of the Napa Valley Community Foundation, which was at the heart of the Napa Strong rebuilding effort following last year's devastating Napa earthquake.
“He has given us wonderful guidance,” she said, with key partners lined up to serve on an advisory committee to make sure the funds are directed where the most pressing community need exists, and where state and federal funds can meet the needs.
Sommerfield said Brown and Thompson have been instrumental in helping the #LakeCountyRising effort.
Separately, Thompson took the fundraising effort to more members of the winegrape community at events last week, Sommerfield said.
Gore said the money will go directly to on-the-ground recovery efforts, channeled through Lake County providers.
“We don't want to invest in bureaucracy,” he said. “We want to invest in impact.”
Gore said everyone involved with the effort understands that Lake County needs a lot of support for a sustained amount of time.
“Our community is much wider than the districts we represent,” he said.
Gore said the goal is to be part of a movement, and he's hoping this is the beginning of it.
“There is an imperative for everyone to take action,” Gore said. “Don't just feel bad. Don't just move on. Take action.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.