The photos show Madison Martinich, an 11-year-old Girl Scout, delivering 300 journals and pens to Barry Bialkoski. Madison and her family’s home in Santa Barbara burned down seven years ago in the Tea Fire. When she heard about the tragic Valley Fire, she was inspired to collect money to buy the journals and pens, which were obtained below cost from her local book store. Writing in her journal helped her a lot to adjust to her new situation after the fire, and she thought that others affected by the Valley Fire could be helped, too. This fit in well with Barry’s efforts to help the Lake County fire citizens, so the journals were delivered to Barry for distribution through the affected Lions Clubs.
Madison also has started a blog http://www.disasterkids4kids.com that can be used by fire victims to write their stories. You can read her story there.
The Martinich family are lifelong friends of Mike Rogalski, Santa Rosa Host.