The City of West Hollywood Activates ‘West Hollywood Responds’, a program to encourage donations to support cleanup and wildlife rescue efforts following the Orange County oil spill.
The City of West Hollywood is encouraging community members to take part in donating to organizations that are in urgent need of contributions to support clean-up, wildlife rescue, and recovery efforts following the major oil spill off the coast of Orange County in Southern California on Saturday, October 2, 2021. With more than 130,000 gallons leaked and traveling along the coastline, the spill leaves behind a trail of thick sludge devastating wildlife and ecological reserves.
The City of West Hollywood is activating its West Hollywood Responds program to help encourage contributions to agencies and organizations that are working on clean-up and recovery.
“As we witness the devastating effects of the climate emergency unfold in a myriad of ways across the globe, the news of this oil spill hits close-to-home for our community. Many residents and businesses in the City of West Hollywood are asking what they can do to help,” said City of West Hollywood Mayor Lauren Meister. “Trained spill-response personnel are deployed to stop the spread of the oil and to clean up parts of the environment that have been affected, so volunteers are not needed at this time. But donations are vital to helping organizations respond to the overwhelming need. I hope our community can give generously to support the work being done to help affected wildlife and to help teams as they work toward restoring the coastline and ecosystem.”
West Hollywood’s core values include Responsiveness to the Public and Responsibility for the Environment. The City of West Hollywood has a deeply held commitment to protecting and improving natural and built environments. As such, the City is mindful about the important role that local governments and organizations play in mobilizing assistance for communities when disasters strike.
In 2005, the West Hollywood City Council first established West Hollywood Responds as a local disaster relief program developed to provide assistance to the Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Katrina. It has been reactivated multiple times during the past several years.
Local and state agencies note that volunteers from the public are not needed at this time, and they can, in fact, hinder response efforts so donations are being encouraged.
The City has assembled a list of organizations on its website at www.weho.org/wehoresponds.
