A group of local realtors helped out the Santa Clarita Valley Disaster Coalition with a generous donation over the weekend, coalition members said.

The Santa Clarita Valley chapter of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors, which is part of a regional organization with more than 9,500 members, donated the money from their annual fundraiser to support victims of the Sand Fire.

“The donation comes from the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Nancy Starczyk of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors SCV Chapter. “Our community is so important to us that wherever we can help, we want to help.”

The money came from the local group of realtors’ annual fundraiser, Starcyzk said.
“We had a fundraiser set up, and we decided the money should go to the fire victims,” she said. “We do these every summer, and we were really thrilled to be able to give this money.”

A 501(c)(3) organization based in Santa Clarita, the Santa Clarita Valley Disaster Coalition is an all-volunteer alliance of caring community leaders from the private and public sectors, including representatives from local government, businesses, faith-based organizations, schools, and nonprofits.

The Santa Clarita Disaster Coalition’s mission is to work together as “second responders,” to provide supplemental humanitarian relief to people in our area who need help to rebuild their lives after suffering loss due to a natural disaster, community-wide emergency, or other crisis situation in the Santa Clarita Valley, and, when appropriate, elsewhere in California and the United States.

In the short term, the Coalition strives to provide a safety net for local people in need when they need it most, assisting those who have lost property, providing clothing, new home items, and counseling.

In the long term, the Coalition has worked to help increase awareness of local disaster preparedness and response plans.