As fires continue to ravage nearby Spokane, the Iron Circle Collective, a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is helping raise funds to donate to those who have been affected. 

Led by Jennifer Davis of Earth Fairy Holistics and Jerilee Medearis of Three Sisters Broom Shoppe, the collective’s mission is to provide support, connection and assistance through the difficult moments in life. Spokane being so close to Coeur d’Alene, it only made sense to help raise funds for those in need.

“The minute I said, ‘Hey, we got to help Spokane, they’re our neighbors,’ everybody jumped in,” Davis said. “The first night we raised $19,000. Thirty-three thousand five hundred dollars was the total (on Tuesday afternoon) since my first video was posted.”

Between the Earth Fairy Holistics and the Three Sisters Broom Shoppe pages, Davis and Medearis were able to point their nearly 600,000 combined Facebook followers toward the Iron Circle Collective to donate.

While donations have come in from Coeur d’Alene residents, they’ve also poured in from around the country and the rest of the world too.

“Europe and Belgium, Australia, you name it, they’re donating,” Davis said, explaining that the united front she has seen is unbelievable. “You can see when good is put out, people see humanity, it’s unity at that point. Everyone comes together and it’s not about anything other than helping those people.”

Unfortunately, in the modern world, there is no shortage of people looking to take advantage of tragedy. That is why Iron Circle Collective does whatever it can to give money directly to people or local organizations who can help.

“We're very careful, we research, and we look into groups,” Medearis said. “We make sure that they're doing what they say they're doing.”

They have reached out and plan to donate money to SpokAnimal and HEART Spokane, as well as the Coeur d’Alene, Spokane and Colville tribes to offer their support. 

As far as individuals go, all one needs to do is submit a request for what they need and proof they live within any of the evacuation zones, such as a utility bill. There’s no waiting in line behind thousands of people and hoping you receive a few bucks.

“And that’s why Iron Circle Collective was created,” Medearis explained. “There’s no red tape; the money goes directly to them.”

Requests range everywhere from needing an entirely new set of clothes after escaping with only what they were wearing when evacuating to something as simple as a single book. 

While not every item may be considered essential to daily life, small things like the book are meaningful and impactful when it comes to having some semblance of normalcy.

“We are very appreciative of everybody in this community because this community rises when people are in need, and we're the lucky ones that get to spearhead that in this case,” Medearis said. “It's an honor, and we accept it as such.”

While Davis and Medearis acknowledge they won’t be able to raise the money to rebuild homes, they know the money they’re raising will help the futures of families who lost everything.

 “That is the goal, letting them know that they aren’t lost,” Davis said. “They aren’t just kicked to the wind.”