As the wildfires continue to ravage parts of California, the Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation is gathering donations for the people who have been affected by the devastation. They have announced a matching gift of $45,000, thanks to Dav Pilkey, Forefront Books, Ingram Content Group, Macmillan Publishers, and Mad Cave Studios. Regardless of the size of the donation, up to $45,000 donations will be matched to help bookstores and comic shops and their employees impacted by the wildfires.

Because of the wildfires, dozens of comic shops and book stores have been closed and many people have had to evacuate their homes and businesses. Binc stated that they already know of seven booksellers who lost their homes. They are offering free mental health wellness care, and they are receiving calls about the destruction caused by the fires.

“We were still hearing from book and comic people devastated by hurricanes Helene and Milton last fall when the calls started to come as a result of the wildfires that hit just a week into the new year,” Binc Executive Director Pam French said. “We know from experience that the need will continue to grow as damage is assessed, the fires are contained, and the cleanup begins. We are so grateful for the support of our partners who quickly rallied to provide this generous matching gift.”

Binc initially received a $10,000 match gift from Bookshop.org, prompting the higher $45,000 match gift. Donations can be made on Binc’s website.