December 31, 2021
The Marshall Fire in Louisville and Supirior Colorado was the most destructive fire Colorado has ever had. When the news of the fire was reported, the Dads of Castle Rock and the Castle Rock community leaped into action. One message from Robert Zearing started what would become the largest relief effort the Dads of Castle Rock had ever done, “500 homes lost to the fires up north so far… time to get to work.”
Several dads stopped they were doing and immediately went up to the fire to help evacuate people and pets, while the board, executive team, and several other dads drafted and coordinated plans to help provide crucial relief by those affected by the fire.
Within minutes of the Dads of Castle Rock announcing the call to action for volunteers and donations, they were immediately flooded with support from DoCR members and the entire community, including donations from the local King Soopers, Target, and Sam’s Club.
A staging area was established at the local Sam’s Club with a two hour window to collect all donations. Hundreds of cars and trucks loaded with cases of water or Gatorade, new socks, new underwear, winter jackets, toiletries, stuffed animals, diapers, and other necessities answered the call, filling two 26’ box trucks donated by local businesses, two 17’ cargo trailers, 42’ triple axle trailer, and scores of pickup trucks.
Dozens of cars and pickup trucks were still waiting to donate supplies after all box trucks and trailers were full. To ensure the fire victims received all the crucial supplies they needed, many of the remaining loaded cars and trucks followed the convoy to boulder to deliver the supplies to several different drop off locations.
This horrible disaster highlighted the compassion and character of the Castle Rock community. Their efforts directly affected countless fire victims, and showed what the Castle Rock community is capable of when everyone rallies to a cause greater than themselves.
