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The Fire 
On July 1st, we awoke to find that our garden shed has fallen victim to an arsonist. Apparently someone had broken into the shed and started a fire inside. The fire had smoldered for some time until around 5am when a passer by noticed smoke pouring from the vents and called the fire department. The fire inside had claimed all of our tools and supplies. Enough of the shed was damaged to make it structurally unsound. We now had an unsecured dangerous building, and wanted to get the debris moved as quickly as possible. We also didn't want to risk the safety of the gardeners by having volunteers take down the burned out shell. Our search for a contractor was made more difficult with the long 4th weekend around the corner. We were lucky enough to find a contractor who would demo the shed and remove the debris for a fair price. On July 3rd a contractor came, tore down the shed remains, and hauled all debris off the site. After only 2 and a half years of service, the shed we came to depend on was now a total loss. The financial loss for both shed, tools/contents and debris removal approached $8,000. The Aftermath 
The process of fundraising to rebuild is now under way. We thank the local media for their help in spreading the news of this tragedy so we can rebuild as quickly as possible. The press reports are below (The Herald article may be archived) We have a slide show of the shed damage and cleanup efforts. If you are a mamber of the press, please contact John for high resolution photos available for publication. Fundraising and Rebuilding 
Our efforts now turn to fundraising and rebuilding. Our thanks to those who have donated so far, but we still have a long way to reach our goal. Donations to help us rebuild are tax-deductable and can be made through our parent organization, SELROSLT. Just put "Berkeley Shed Fund" on the envelope and on your cheque memo. Donations can be sent to
Berkeley Garden Shed Fund c/o SELROSLT P.O. Box 180923 Boston, MA, 02118-0010 If you don't feel comfortabel with a cheque, a gift card to Home Depot will help us replace the tools we lost. We have a list of what we need to replace, but please do not shop without contacting us first, as some of these supplies have already been purchased by donors. The local neighborhood associations will be having an additional fund raiser in the fall to help us meet our goals. We again thank those who are donating to help us rebuild. We have 150 community gardeners who are at a loss with no tools to use, and no supplies for us during the height of the growing season. |
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