College faculty and students were evacuated and lost homes in the wildfires raging throughout California.

Shasta Community College was in the line of fire, and college faculty members who have been displaced or lost everything are turning to their union for help. And Community College Association (CCA) and CTA are there for them.

Shasta College Faculty Association (SCFA) President Tom Martin says he and his team are “helping the faculty fill out their applications for the CTA disaster funds and submit them to our local CTA office. The application process is simple and quick, and the local CTA office staff have been very helpful.”

At least nine Shasta College employees had lost their homes — seven faculty, one administrator and one board member. Worse, a Shasta Community College (SCC) part-time instructor and fire prevention inspector, Jeremy Stoke, 37, was killed in the Carr Fire. “We will be doing something for Jeremy Stoke, but we want to give the family some space. We will work through his Fire Academy colleagues to create a memorial of some kind according to the family’s wishes.”

The Shasta College Faculty voted unanimously to donate $5,000 for K-14 teachers who were affected by the Carr Fire. “We challenge all faculty associations to donate to the K-14 faculty affected by one of the fires in California,” Martin added.

Other local funds have been started — one specifically for students, and one for faculty and staff. More than $43,000 has been raised locally already, and a GoFundMe page for Shasta College faculty was created by the college to assist local efforts.

A Student Support Committee made up of faculty, staff and administrators will take requests and develop guidelines to administer funds. For the faculty and staff account, funds will be administered by Chris Petersen, Classified Staff Employee Association (CSEA) president, Tom Martin, Shasta College Faculty Association (SCFA) presidents, and Joe Wyse, Shasta College president (pictured above).

“The funds are for members of our Shasta College family who lost their home, had damage to their home or were displaced for a long period,” says Martin.

In Redding, 45 families applied for aid through CTA’s Disaster Relief Fund, including two college faculty families. The fund — paid for through contributions from fellow union members — was created to provide financial assistance to CCA/CTA members who have faced significant loss due to disasters in California.d.

Local leaders and staff are working to get the word out to colleagues about the CTA Disaster Relief Fund. If you or a CCA colleague has been impacted by the fires, share this information on the CTA Disaster Grant site.