The Carpenters sang “there’s no place like home for the holidays” but for some wildfire survivors, “home” is a room at the Shilo Inn in Salem. The holidays can be especially hard on disaster survivors still staying in temporary lodging.
That’s why the Shilo Inn management team threw a holiday party for the wildfire survivors staying there. The hotel wanted to give back by having a tree decoration event with hot cocoa, cookies and coloring books.
“This event was a definite hit with the families who attended. They really enjoyed the thoughtfulness of allowing the children, during this hard time, to have a little bit of Christmas fun,” Shilo Inn General Manager Dawn Vinogradoff, said.
Hallie Weir and her four children who attended the party agreed.
“It was nice to have traditions that we had at home. It just made me realize that the home is what you make of it. Home is your family – it’s not the place – it’s the people,” Weir said.
During a span of 16 months, this Shilo Inn has sheltered 124 Marion County families affected by wildfire. Currently they have nine families for a total of 15 people. Shilo Inn also shelters people who lost their homes and are discharged from a hospital but still need a place to recuperate.
