Humans aren’t the only ones struggling with the impact of this season’s weather storms.

Over 200 animals, mostly stray dogs or dogs lost during the storms, were brought to the Stanislaus Animal Services Agency in California this week and need homes.

“A lot of them are scared,” said SASA executive director Vaughn Maurice. “You can hear them crying and barking in the background. It really is a very sad situation.”

Staff are over capacity and working hard to reconnect the animals with their rightful owners. But with overcrowding and slowed adoptions due to the weather, dozens are being sent to shelters as far as states away.

One such partner shelter is in Idaho, where dozens of dogs were already sent to await new owners.

The problem with this transition is the agency does not have enough crates to transfer the animals safely and comfortably. They are currently asking the public for donations of any new or used crates, particularly for larger dogs. More than 70% of the agency’s dogs weigh over 50 pounds.

SASA is also seeking temporary foster parents to help with the influx of stray dogs.

Staff say adoptions have slowed down because of the weather and the impact it’s had on residents. The challenge is finding locals to take them in.

“I think right now there’s other communities that aren’t as inundated with stray dogs as what we’re seeing in Stanislaus County,” said rescue coordinator Chandra Looney.

With more rainfall coming this week, SASA staff expect plenty more animals will come into their care.

“Many of the dogs don’t appreciate being out in the rain,” Looney said. “Thunder and lightning can be scary to a dog.”

Maurice is also hoping people will volunteer with tasks as simple as coming and spending time with the animals.

“They’re beautiful animals,” Maurice said. “We love each and every one of them and we want to make sure they have the right outcome and find a good home as quickly as possible.”

Watch the video above for the full story.

As St. Vincent de Paul collects coats to hand out this winter, one donor stands above the rest.

For more than a decade, Poul Lemasters has been giving the gift of warmth during the holidays.

This year, he's taking some inspiration from his pandemic hobby to bring in more money and more coats.

From behind a bar, Lemasters is serving up cocktails for coats.

"I'm naïve in many ways and when we first did this and started you know they got more and more and I thought we're going to run out of people to give coats to and you don't because every year somebody needs a new coat," Lemasters said.

Twelve years ago he started a nonprofit collecting coats.

Though it's grown into quite the operation, donating 5,000 new coats to St. Vincent de Paul most recently, when it started it was just a family affair.

"This started off with teaching my kids the art of giving back. We did four coats one year. Four coats. We bought new coats. Took them to St. Vincent de Paul. I wanted my kids to see what that was like," Lemasters said.

And it stuck. He didn't expect the reaction one year later.

"The next year my kids kinda threw it back at me and said, 'Hey are we giving more coats this year?' So do you say no? Of course you say, 'Yeah, and we're going to give a little bit more.' So it's been a great feeling because not only have we grown it within our family, it's grown bigger than us," Lemasters said.

This year he's going old-fashioned with a 24-hour telethon.

You can watch on his Facebook or YouTube.

While he collects cash, he's serving up 50 cocktails from Saturday to Sunday night.

It's a fun twist on what he's found is a real necessity for so many.

"I know the demand. We get calls from schools and local organizations asking can you bring us 50 coats? 100 coats? And I'm humbled to be able to say yes we can," Lemasters said.

Click here to donate.

NEW ORLEANS —

Community members in Louisiana are coming together to take care of one another following the devastation left behind by Hurricane Ida.

Pennington Hebert, 5, lost all of his toys in the storm.

"I was crying that I didn't have my toys," Pennington told sister station WDSU.

So many people donated new toys, gift cards, and even a refrigerator to the family following WDSU's story.

"If it hadn't been for y'all, none of this would have been possible or would have happened. It's because of y'all that we have any of this. It's so wonderful," Kathryn Hebert, Pennington's mother, said.

The need for supplies is still massive in the communities hit hardest by Ida.

Leaders have set up a resource center for people in need.

"To see the heartbreak in their eyes and the tears running down the side their face, really tugs at my heart," said Ricky Templet, a councilman for Louisiana's Jefferson Parish.

"I must have had about 5 feet of water and a foot of mud — that's the hardest part, the mud," said Shirley Nagel, who has lived in Lafitte, Louisiana, her entire life.

Nagel lost everything. She has no flood insurance but said she is fortunate because she has her family.

"Have faith and courage. Ask God to help them to have the strength and courage to go through this. It takes a lot, but they can do it. Have faith. It will come back. It will all come back. I know we can do it," Nagel said.

As for Pennington, he said he knows his community can rebuild too. He plans on sharing all of his new toys.

"The world is the best," Pennington said. " I'm going to give them toys, too. They will say 'thank you' because I'm going to give them toys."

Some of America's biggest companies are suspending donations to Republican Congress members who objected to the Electoral College's votes.

The growing list of those corporations, including American Express, BlueCross BlueShield, Commerce Bank, Dow and Marriott, comes after a pro-Trump mob breached the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday to fight against the ceremonial counting of electoral votes that confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's win.

147 Republicans voted against certification of the electoral votes in a joint session of Congress last Wednesday evening. They included Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, among hundreds other congress members.

Airbnb: The home-rental company is "withholding" its PAC donations to all of the legislators involved in contesting certification of the electoral results.

"Airbnb strongly condemns last week's attack on the US Capitol and the efforts to undermine our democratic process," the company said in a statement. "We will continue to uphold our community policies by banning violent hate group members when we learn of such memberships, and the Airbnb PAC will update its framework and withhold support from those who voted against the certification of the presidential election results."

American Express: American Express said its political action committee would no longer make contributions to those 147 Republicans who voted to challenge the election results.

"Last week's attempts by some congressional members to subvert the presidential election results and disrupt the peaceful transition of power do not align with our American Express Blue Box values; therefore, the AXP PAC will not support them," the company said in a statement.

AT&T: AT&T released a statement Monday afternoon via its Public Policy Twitter account: "Employees on our Federal PAC Board convened a call today and decided to suspend contributions to members of Congress who voted to object to the certification of Electoral College votes last week."

CNN's parent company, WarnerMedia, is owned by AT&T.

Blue Cross Blue Shield: "At the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, we continuously evaluate our political contributions to ensure that those we support share our values and goals," said Kim Keck, BlueCross BlueShield's president and CEO, in a statement. "In light of this week's violent, shocking assault on the United States Capitol, and the votes of some members of Congress to subvert the results of November's election by challenging Electoral College results, BCBSA will suspend contributions to those lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy."

The health insurance company's BLUEPAC political action committee -- supported only by employee contributions — donated $246,750 to Republican lawmakers during the 2020 cycle. That included $10,000 to Sen. Tuberville, $1,000 to Sen. Marshall and $500 to Sen. Hawley.

BlueCross BlueShield said it's stopping donations to all Republicans who challenged the Electoral College results.

Commerce Bank: Commerce Bank said it, too, is halting its PAC contributions to officials it says "have impeded the peaceful transfer of power." The bank donated a total of $49,750 to Republicans during the 2020 cycle, which included $2,500 to Sen. Marshall.

"Commerce Bank condemns violence in any form and believes the actions witnessed this week are abhorrent, anti-democratic and entirely contrary to supporting goodwill for Americans and businesses.

Dow Chemical: Dow said in an emailed statement that it is immediately suspending all corporate and employee political action committee contributions to any member of Congress who voted to object to the certification of the presidential election.

Dow said its suspension will last for one election cycle — two years for House members and up to six years for Senators — which specifically includes donations to candidates' re-election committees and affiliated PACs.

Marriott: Marriott is following suit by suspending its PAC donations to lawmakers who opposed election results.

"We have taken the destructive events at the Capitol to undermine a legitimate and fair election into consideration and will be pausing political giving from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election," the company said in a statement.

In an internal memo to employees on Friday, Citigroup said it would temporarily suspend all political giving from its PAC in the first quarter, referred to as the Citi PAC. The company also denounced candidates "who do not respect the rule of the law."

Suspending all donations

Some companies have opted to suspend donations to all politicians, regardless of whether or not they voted against upholding the Electoral College results.

Charles Schwab: Schwab is discontinuing its financial contributions from its PAC to all lawmakers for the remainder of the year.

"This pause will give the firm an opportunity to evaluate the best path forward to fulfill our long-standing commitment to advocate on behalf of individual investors and those who serve them," said the company in statement.

Citigroup: Citi noted that of the legislators who contested the electoral college vote certification, Citigroup's PAC had given $1,000 to Sen. Hawley in 2019.

"We intend to pause our contributions during the quarter as the country goes through the Presidential transition and hopefully emerges from these events stronger and more united," said Candi Wolff, managing director and head of global government affairs, in the memo.

Coca-Cola: The beverage company has "suspended political giving."

"We were all stunned by the unlawful and violent events that unfolded in our nation's capital on Jan. 6, and we are grateful that Democracy prevailed with the subsequent certification of the election results," the company said. "The current events will long be remembered and will factor into our future contribution decisions."

Facebook: Facebook said it will suspend all donations from its political action committee through the first quarter, in light of last week's Capitol violence.

"Following last week's awful violence in DC, we are pausing all of our PAC contributions for at least the current quarter, while we review our policies," Facebook spokesman Andy Stone told CNN in a statement.

JPMorgan: JPMorgan said it will pause all political donations from the bank's PAC for six months.

"The country is facing unprecedented health, economic and political crises," said Peter Scher, head of corporate responsibility for JPMorgan. "The focus of business leaders, political leaders, civic leaders right now should be on governing and getting help to those who desperately need it most right now. There will be plenty of time for campaigning later."

Visa: The credit card company has temporarily suspended all of its PAC contributions as it reviews its "candidate contribution guidelines."

Since the Capitol riots, a large number of companies and business leaders have come forward to condemn the violence that ensued in Washington, with some calling for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have banned President Trump from posting to his accounts for at least the remainder of his term in office -- or indefinitely. Twitter has permanently banned Trump from from its platform.

CNN's Alison Kosik contributed to this report.

FAIRFAX, Va. — On a sweltering summer day, the boxes keep coming.

“This has been a really aggressive ramp up, as you can see,” said Kristyn Peck, CEO of Lutheran Social Services - National Capital Area (LSSNCA).

The boxes contain the basic necessities for a new life, which are destined for Afghan allies arriving in the U.S. It’s not the first time Lutheran Social Services – National Capital Area have been called up to do this.

“We've been serving refugees and immigrants since right after World War II,” said Peck.

They are now helping those fleeing a different war, as a part of the nine national social services agencies the U.S. government is working with to help arriving Afghan refugees.

“We are so grateful to be able to be on the front lines of this response. This is why we do our work,” Peck said. “This is why we're here, but it has taken a community effort.”

It hasn’t been easy.

They received 24 hours notice from the government that Afghan refugees would be arriving and needing their help. A scramble for volunteers and donations began.

“It has been pretty overwhelming,” said Regan Brough, stake director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Annandale, Virginia. “Trucks started arriving last Wednesday and they reached out for help saying we need volunteers here now.”

Inside the church basement, among scores of donations, a small staff for LSSNCA works to process the needs of hundreds of government-vetted, incoming Afghan refugees.

“It's feeling a little bit chaotic right now to some of us, but we're happy to be here and happy to open the doors and be on hand,” said Pastor Dan Roschke with Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

In all of last year, Peck said they helped 500 people resettle in the area. Now, they’ve helped settle 500 refugees just this month.

“We didn't have the number of staff we would need to accommodate this level of clients,” Peck said. “And so, we are working with our volunteer network to ensure that we have volunteers who are helping to do home visits, who are helping to bring clients gift cards.”

Crammed into the hallways outside the office, toiletries, cleaning supplies, child car seats, and even vacuum cleaners, are sorted for distribution to the refugees. Every little bit helps they say, to help people who have been through an experience unimaginable to most.

“We hope that they feel welcomed and loved. They have gone through a very traumatic experience,” Brough said. “And right now, they need to know that there are people who care about them and that want them to be well and to help them get started in a new place where they can be well.”

They hope the generosity will extend beyond the short term.

“I hope that this response sustains beyond this initial emergency period and people are reaching out to their new neighbors, knocking on the door: ‘What can I do to help you?” Peck said. “I think that those connections that we have with each other are really critical to foster resilience.”

In addition to gathering donations, finding safe, permanent housing for the refugees is also a big challenge.

If you would like to help in any way, you can click here for the website to LSSNCA and see what donations are still needed. You can also reach out to their national organization, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee service by clicking here.

PARKER, Colo. — A Facebook group called “The Denver $100 Dinner Club” surprised staff at Black+Haus Tavern with tips that totaled $3,000 in three hours.

Rick Moses and his friend, Nick Carpenter, got the tipping idea from a Facebook group in Utah and decided to launch their own in Colorado. They began promoting “The Denver $100 Dinner Club” in February. The goal of the group is to round up 100 people willing to go out for dinner, and each leaves a $100 tip for restaurant staff for a total of $10,000.

Since many restaurants are under capacity restrictions, participants reserve their tables in waves. Moses says the money tipped is designated for staff who have been struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic.

Moses reached out to Black+Haus Tavern in Parker, Colorado, after several recommendations. The restaurant opened four months ago, during the pandemic.

Jenn Black, the owner of Black+Haus Tavern, was hesitant when she got a call from Moses. She initially thought, “he was crazy,” asking him, “what’s the catch?” After a little homework and some thinking, she was on board.

“I was excited. I didn’t tell my staff,” Black said. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Participants made reservations online, and in three waves they had dinner.

“Every single person that came in from that $100 club left a $100 tip,” Black said.

“I noticed my waiter was loving the night, and you could just see people running around with a little pep in their step and having a good time,” Moses said.

During a three-hour span, participants tipped $3,000.

“It's incredible to have a group of people going out there to help the restaurant industry at this time,” Black said.

The money was split among 24 staff members including waiters, kitchen staff, bartenders and the host.

Laura Ludvigson was off on the big tipping day, but she still received $100. The single mother is working two jobs to make ends meet. She said the pandemic has depleted her savings and checking account. Ludvigson said the extra money puts food on the table.

“Just thank you so much, like from the bottom of our hearts, just thank you so much,” Ludvigson said.

Moses hopes to keep paying it forward by hosting a tipping event once a month at a local restaurant. He is currently accepting restaurant recommendations for the event in April. If you would like to participate or make a recommendation, visit the “The Denver $100 Dinner Club” Facebook page or reach out to Moses directly on Facebook.

“Stimulus checks are great, but you know, why can't the community help out too?” Moses said.

As for Black, she plans on attending the next event to help pay it forward.

This story was originally published by Adi Guajardo at KMGH.

More than a dozen people, their pets and a wedding dress were all rescued from an apartment complex building fire on Friday.

A fire department in Wisconsin was called around 5:15 a.m. Friday morning.

The single apartment building on fire in the large apartment complex property housed eight units and 15 people inside.

No injuries were reported.

Chief Peter Jaskulski of the Hales Corners Fire Department in Wisconsin said one of his off-duty firefighters lives in the apartment building next to the one that caught fire. Jaskulski said the firefighter's dog woke him up, and when he let the dog out, he smelled smoke and discovered the fire. Jaskulski said the firefighter banged on all the doors in the building to wake people up.

Jaskulski said a woman inside the building, who nearly lost her wedding dress to the flames, pulled the building fire alarm.

Jaskulski said police also made sure everyone was out.

Fire crews contained the fire, but by the time it was out, the building and all the homes inside it were a total loss.

Multiple fire departments were called to help with the blaze.

After the fire was out, Milwaukee fire crews performed a sweep of the building and discovered a wedding dress in one of the units. They pulled it out.

"When you see something, and you see something of that much value, you make a decision and they made the right decision to pull that out," Jaskulski said.

The Milwaukee fire crew gave the dress to a neighbor, who reunited the dress with its bride. The moment was caught on camera.

Jaskulski said he talked at length with the woman who owned the wedding dress.

"This was a young couple that was going to get married in April and because of COVID-19 had postponed it. They didn't have a big ceremony, but they got married in a smaller ceremony and they hadn't decided what to do yet," Jaskulski said.

"Later on, I talked to her. She was holding the dress, she was with her husband, it was actually a really beautiful dress," Jaskulski said. "I said, 'You gotta get it dry cleaned.' She had tears in her eyes, she said, 'Somebody has offered to take care of that for me already.'"

Sister station WISN 12 News crews followed up with the apartment complex later on and found the business office filled with donations from the community.

Clothes, food, stuffed animals and more were all donated to help the families displaced by the early morning fire.

The apartment complex manager said they did not ask for donations, people just started bringing them in.

Jaskulski said the fire started outside on the second floor. He said it was not caused by any candles or grills, did not appear to be suspicious and did not appear to be caused by neglect.

He said the official cause of the fire is still under investigation, but he believes it likely had something to do with utilities located outside on the second floor.