A Sacramento woman is asking North State residents to help the approximately 140 former mill workers in Weed who lost their jobs when Roseburg Forest Products closed its veneer plant three weeks before Christmas.
Former Weed resident and businesswoman Haylee Parker said she launched the “Together for Weed” relief fund on fundraising website GiveButter.com to help former mill workers and their families make ends meet at Christmas. She’s also collecting item donations, she said.
The mill was “the business the city of Weed was founded on,” said Parker, who pointed out the number of people laid off and their families constitute a significant part of the town’s 2,765 population. “Generations of families worked at that mill.” This is going to “have a big economic impact on the community.”
Parker posted the fund on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 4 and donated the first $1,000 toward the $8,000 goal. The fund got a second $25 donation in the first 24 hours, according to the fund’s donation page at givebutter.com/togetherforweed.
Money raised by the fund “will provide holiday gifts for children, warm clothing, grocery and gas support, and other essential items,” said Parker, who is approaching local assistance organizations to help set up distribution of gift cards and other items to those laid off. Those who benefit include families who worked at the mill but live elsewhere in Siskiyou County.
Note to readers: If you appreciate the work we do here at the Redding Record Searchlight, please consider subscribing yourself or giving the gift of a subscription to someone you know.
The fund will stay open through Dec. 20 or 21, she said.
Parker plans a toy drive for the kids of former mill workers. Until Parker and other volunteers establish drop-off locations, people can donate warm children’s coats in good or new condition, new toys and hygiene products like soap and toiletries by emailing her at millfamilyrelief@goldenhourcollective.org, she said.
She also reached out to the Weed Chamber of Commerce to help distribute donations.
A call and email to the chamber from the Record Searchlight were not returned on Friday, Dec. 5.
Roseburg’s Dec. 3 announcement that it closed the mill surprised many it the community, according to Parker and Siskiyou residents.
The mill weathered decades of use and fallout after the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported its machinery ignited the Mill Fire in 2022. The blaze killed two, displaced 559 people and devastated the Weed community 40 years after Roseburg purchased the facility.
The Oregon company offered laid off employees — people whose parents and grandparents worked at the mill — 60 days of pay and benefits, Parker said. “That is just a really painful goodbye.”
Parker is rebuilding her own business, Goldenhour Collective in downtown Weed, she said, after fire destroyed it in September. She moved to Sacramento from Weed last summer and has plans to open new dispensaries throughout Northern California, she said.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal , Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Weed dispensary owner raises money for former mill workers at Christmas
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
