Baseball's Jonny Gomes Heads Up Little League Fire Relief Drive

COTATI, CA — The San Francisco-based Play It Forward agency is collecting clothing, sports equipment, toys and other items for the families of first responders who lost their homes in the North Bay fires. The items will be stored in an 18,000-square-foot warehouse in Cotati that will have room for storing items collected by other agencies.

Cotati City Manager Damien O'Bid fast-tracked the permits to use the warehouse for the storage and distribution of items and the availability of the warehouse that is owned by a development group. Play It Forward CEO Kasey Colvin arranged the warehouse as a destination for the collection effort.

Play It Forward works with professional athletes and others in community philanthropic efforts.

Former Major League baseball player Jonny Gomes, a Petaluma native and former Santa Rosa Junior College baseball player, and Los Angeles Angels pitcher Bud Norris, also a North Bay resident, helped lead the drive to collect donated goods from national companies.

Gomes and Colvin are stockpiling athletic equipment for 110 Santa Rosa Little League players who lost the equipment and homes in the fires in October and for 47 players from Rincon Valley and 12 other leagues.

"I know so many people affected by the fires, and when I recently spent several days in Sonoma County, everywhere we went I witnessed devastation and people in need," Gomes said in a news release about the
collection effort.

Bud Norris is using his contacts to get donated goods and athletic equipment for distribution to children who lost everything in the fire.

"People can support Gomes' efforts which are helping fire victims by donating to Gofundme.com/707relief, or by purchasing a '707 Stronger Together' T-shirt on Sosojelly.com," Colvin said.

By Bay City News Service

Photo via GoFundMe/707relief