| Sycuan Tribe Creates $1 Million Fire Relief Fund East County Fire Victims and Community Organizations to Receive Assistance For Rebuilding Efforts and Free Thanksgiving Dinners November 12 , 2003 El Cajon, CA - The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation announced today that the tribe has created the Sycuan East County Fire Relief Fund to help its neighbors in East County communities rebuild after the disastrous fires of last month. The Tribe will contribute a total of $1 million dollars for a variety of community projects and direct assistance to fire victims. In addition, all East County fire victims and their families have been invited to the Sycuan Casino on Thanksgiving Day for a free holiday meal complements of the Sycuan Tribe. “Our tribe has a long tradition of helping our neighbors in the East County and during this difficult time we felt that it was important to step forward to support the rebuilding efforts of residents who lost their homes and the community organizations that were damaged in the fires,” said Danny Tucker, Tribal Chairman. According to Tucker, a major portion of the $1 million fund established by the Sycuan Tribe will be dispersed directly to residents who lost their homes in Harbison Canyon and Crest. Each family will receive a check for $500 to help them recover from fire expenses. It has been reported that possibly as many as 40% of the victims of the fires in East County did not have insurance and are facing real hardships as they work to rebuild their lives. In addition to direct grants to fire victims, the Sycuan East County Fire Relief Fund will provide grants to several community organizations to assist in rebuilding their facilities and programs after the fire. The Fund will provide a $100,000 grant to rebuild the Crest Community Center , a $100,000 grant to rebuild the Harbison Canyon Fire Station and community church, and a $100,000 grant to the Alpine Community Center, where fire victims were housed and fed during the disaster. The Kiwanis Club of La Mesa and the Kiwanis Club of Alpine will be providing the labor for these projects and Sycuan will provide all the needed materials. During the coming weeks, Sycuan will be working closely with other community organizations to identify other needs that could be addressed by the Sycuan East County Fire Relief Fund that could include grants to social service agencies, school groups or public agencies in need of support for rebuilding efforts. As an example, Sycuan will be working with the Alpha Project to provide debris removal assistance for fire victims who were not covered by insurance. For more information about the Sycuan East County Fire Relief Fund, please contact Adam Day at 619-445-2613.  |
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