I lived in the Pasadena area of Los Angeles for a decade and still own a house there. The fires have been gut-wrenchingly devastating. Tens of thousands of people have been impacted. As for me - my old apartment burned down. My old office burned down. Multiple friends have lost their homes. It's a miracle that my house, which is within the Eaton Fire zone, has survived... so far. Neighbors just a few blocks away now are homeless. One precious building lost near me was the historic 100-year-old clubhouse for a non-profit I am a member of - Nature Friends. It was one of three left in the United States, which were founded by German and Austrian immigrants at the turn of the last century:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rdaniel-foster/2025/01/11/nature-friends-mountain-retreat-vows-to-rebuild-after-los-angeles-fires/European members of the forum may know of
Naturfreunde International. It has a background in the social democratic movement, which aims to make the enjoyment of nature accessible to the working-class people by providing affordable recreational and travel facilities. It encourages sustainable tourism and international friendship. It is also known as
Les Amis de la Nature (in French),
Amici della Natura (in Italian),
La Naturamikoj (in Esperanto), and
Natuurvrienden or NIVON (in Dutch). If any of this resonates with anyone who might be able to make a donation to our recovery fund, it would be sincerely appreciated. Here's a link:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLJWPA343VJ4F/checkout/BNXYMYBYOMBHJUVVUVVBC5SDThank you and 'Berg Frei'!:
