barnett coxAs firefighters continue to battle the devastating fires in northern California, Barnett Cox & Associates (BCA) is responding to Central Coast residents who want to send words of encouragement and support to northern Californians now in distress.

While needs for food, water and shelter are still being assessed, residents will appreciate knowing that their fellow Californians care.

“The full devastation is not yet known, but one thing is clear: Those in distress need to know others are thinking of them,” said BCA CEO Maggie Cox. “That’s why we’ve created an easy way for SLO County residents to send a note of encouragement to our friends and neighbors in Northern California, to let them know, ‘We’re with you!’”

BCA is offering a stack of postcards for local service organizations and other groups to distribute to staff, family and friends who then can quickly jot down a few words of support to those in fire-stricken areas. Organizations and individuals interested in helping should contact BCA at WeCare@barnettcox.com.

BCA will collect the cards Friday, Oct. 20 and send them to shelters, churches and other assistance organizations helping northern California wildfire fire victims. The postcards were printed courtesy of our friends at the UPS store in the Marigold Center and Coastal Repographic Services (CRS).

The inspiration for the postcard campaign came from Linda Osty, founder of Osty Insurance Agency in Arroyo Grande. Osty regularly organizes similar letter writing campaigns to send words of encouragement and support to military men and women stationed overseas, who regularly send back word about how much they appreciate the thoughts.

“Thousands of people are hurting, and it’s difficult to wrap our heads around how we can be useful,” said Cox. “But we know the words matter and can be of great comfort. We want to harness the thoughts we’re all feeling for these fire victims, and make sure they know we care about them.”

In addition to the postcards, anyone who wants to write their own postcard or letter can drop them off at the BCA office 711 Tank Farm Rd. Suite 210, San Luis Obispo between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 20.