* SHAME ON ME - SHAME ON YOU - SHAME ON MOST OF US... *
...First; I'll plead guilty myself - for my initial reaction to Hurricaine Katrina being one of how this was going to affect "my" investments and "my" trading....how it was raising "my" gas prices and costs for "my" business...
My, my, my, my...
Right now, I'm not real proud of that...but, it's the truth.
Sure, like many; I was disturbed and moved by the scope of the human tragedy and I did make a donation to the Red Cross.
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re: The RED CROSS:
..if you have not done so already - please stop here, stop reading this post and either cut & paste the link below into your browser, or pick up the phone NOW and dial:
1-800 HELP NOW
www.redcross.org
...and make a donation - RIGHT NOW.
NOW... not in 15 minutes, or an hour from now,not when you go offline, or are finished reading SI, or doing your weekend web browsing, or reviewing the Market News...not Tuesday morning... but, NOW.
Because you know the phone is going to ring, or you're going to have to get the kids to their soccer game, or the neighbor's and/or family members are coming over for a BBQ at noon and you know you've already got plans for Labor Day...
If you do not do it - NOW.... you know you won't do it later.
So, PLEASE... do the right thing, feel good about doing the right thing and do the right thing - right NOW.
PLEASE, STOP and right here, right now - click on [ www.redcross.org ], or pick up the telephone and call 1-800 HELP NOW...right here, right now... just - do it.
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As the news from Katrina unfolded and we were literally bombarded with 24 x 7 news from New Orleans, I like many; started to become disgusted by the lawlessness, the looting and those who were starting to make some issues political...
This past Wednesday evening while with a group of friends, awaiting our Table to become available and having a drink in the lounge in the dry, well air-conditioned, luxurious comfort of a Restaurant along the Southeast Shore of Lake Michigan... one of those somewhat humbling and guilt laden epiphany moments arrived...
The tone and tennor of virtually everyone in the lounge who were all watching the Televisions that were broadcasting the looting and lawlessness in New Orleans; had turned very negative... to be frank at a time when there is no time - to be anything other than "frank"... there is going to be a very negative reaction from much of America over the lawlessness and much of America is not going to open their pockets, or their hearts to helping the victims of Hurricaine Katrina.
I am probably no more and no less guilty than anyone else for initially having some of these same reactions. I am not posting this to claim any moral, or social highground on this issue... quite the opposite actually.
Sadly, this very Human and American Tragedy is bringing out both the very best and the very worst in all of us...at a time when there simply is .... no time for anything but the very best in all of us to come out.
There is NO TIME for anger, no time for blame, no time to divide black from white, or rich from poor.
There is simply - NO TIME.
RIGHT NOW there are only 2 kinds of people in America.
1. THOSE WHO NEED HELP
2. THOSE WHO - CAN HELP.
...if you are reading this post; it's obvious which group you are in.
There is only one demographic that matters in this tragedy... AMERICANS... fellow American's in need.
For whatever reason... the system seems to either not be working, or is simply being overwhelmed.
If you've watched the interviews on CNN, FOX, MSNBC et al... you've seen the individual human stories and tragedy that in private moments have brought tears to all of our eye's.
What has personally disturbed me the most; is the loss of human dignity and most sadly of all in my opinion; the loss of hope.
...that is what struck a personal chord with me... the loss of HOPE.
From the comments of Fox New's Sheppard Smith on site in New Orleans - wondering if the City of New Orleans could ever be rebuilt and most disturbingly, whether - it was already "too late" for many of the innocent AMERICANS caught in this tragedy.
Not to be vitriolic; but HOPE is the last thing that should ever be lost in this country.
HOPE HAS NEVER BEEN LOST IN AMERICA...
And for Hope to be lost in a Great American City that has played the gracious host to so many Americans for so many years... seems a cruel irony.
We should all be stopped in our tracks - by that.
...by the loss of HOPE.
That Americans in need have given up HOPE - that "WE"...and other AMERICANS will HELP them.
...if that doesn't twist in your gut... you've lost part of your humanity.
Wednesday evening I picked at my food thru dinner, I wasn't really tuned in to the conversation and later that evening I didn't sleep well...
Deservedly so.
Guilt is a honest punisher, as is our conscious.
The spoiled selfishness of my - "my, my, my, my" attitude was finally being driven home.
Hopefully we all have that little voice inside of us... that triggers guilt, that grabs us when emotion overtakes logic, that whispers in our ear - telling us to do, what we know we need to do...
There is something that all of us can do.
Over the last 48 Hour's I and a few other Business Owners have done something that we can do.
We've loaded up 2 Large Construction Trailers with Roofing & Repair, Construction Materials, OSB, Plywood and Tarps. We have generators, chain saws and tools that we will donate and leave behind when we leave. We've boxed up bottled water, toilet paper, personal items, some misc clothing, 10-12 - 5 to 10 Gallon Water Jugs and something else... something that always seems to be forgotten.
We've bought 6-8 Large Size Dog Crates, attachable Food & Water Bowls, Leashes & Collars, Dog Shampoo's, Flea Dips, Combs & Brushes...and around 600 lbs of Dog Food.
Animal Shelters will be overwhelmed, Kennel space will be filled... these Travel Crates will allow for the temporary humane housing and shelter, or transportation of these Pets... these supplies are badly in need.
Pick a niche that is forgotten... Do a Google Search, or Call Information and get the Telephone Number for a Humane Society, or Animal Shelter in your chosen City and call and find out what they need... and find a way to fund, or ship them what they need. People will need Food and basic Equipment and Veterinary Supplies to care for their Pets and Animals... fill that need.
At the very least... all of us need to give and make a donation to the Red Cross, or organizations such as the Salvation Army....and I know many here have done that already.
But, due to the scope of this tragedy - it simply is not going to be enough.
We all need to do more.
I know we all can do more.
Cash donations will take time to feed thru the system and while they will certainly be valuable and will fund much of the resettling and resupplying needs of many of the victims ...the victims of Hurricaine Katrina need HELP & ASSITANCE right now - that CASH donations simply will not address in this time of complete and total URGENCY.
Many Victims are now getting some food, water and shelter. Today, those most basic needs are begining to be delivered and people are being transported to shelters such as the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
...God, Bless Texas.
Order seems to be being restored in New Orleans; but sadly, there is simply no physical access due to the existing Flood Waters for many charitable , or aid agencies to do much more than they already are doing.
But, the Story is not just New Orleans... the story is in the outlying suburbs, in other cities such as Lafayette, Slidell, Houma, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge and in Gulfport & Biloxi Mississippi...and numerous others.
What needs to be done and what can be done... is for those who can... to get additional supplies that the Red Cross and Aid Agencies are running short on - to staging area's outside of the inaccessable flood area's.
There are innumerable School's, Civic Centre's etc that have become staging area's and shelters in outlying area's, surrounding New Orleans and the other affected cities.
Here's what we can do:
Get off the stockboards.
Get on Google... adopt a City.
Example:
Google Search - "Biloxi Hurricaine Relief"
Start clicking thru links untill you find one like this:
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namb.net
September 2, 2005
“Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, NLT).
Hurricane Katrina Response
Donations
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Fund
Toll-Free: 1 888 571-5895
Mail: PO Box 116543, Atlanta, GA 30368-6543 (make checks payable to North American Mission Board)
Online: www.namb.net/disasterrelief
Louisiana Disaster Relief Fund
c/o Louisiana Baptist Convention
PO Box 311
Alexandria, LA 71309
Mississippi Disaster Relief Fund
c/o Mississippi Baptist Convention Board
515 Mississippi St.
PO Box 530
Jackson, MS 39205-0530
Alabama Disaster Relief Fund
Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions
2001 East South Blvd.
Montgomery, AL 36116
At this time, in-kind donations (e.g. food, clothing, etc.) are not being received due to logistical issues. Please continue to check back, as we are working on a process to accept your in-kind donations.
<< THIS IS IMPORTANT - logistic's will improve and they will need clothing, medical supplies etc...get supplies collected, boxed and labeled - ready to ship... find an organization that is logistically able to receive the aid and get it shipped>>
Further information about volunteering will be available in the next few days.
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Adopt a Church
The North American Mission Board's Church Planting Group, in partnership with Mississippi and Louisiana State conventions, are developing an adopt-a-church process. This process will allow churches affected by Hurricane Katrina to partner with churches for support and assistance.
More information will be posted on our Web site the middle of next week. Watch for details.
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Medical Teams Needed on Gulf Coast
Two medical units belonging to Baptist Child and Family Services (BCFS) have been dispatched to Biloxi, Miss., and Baton Rouge, La. There is an urgent need for medical teams to assist with these vans. If you are a registered nurse or medical doctor, please contact Jessie Flores at (210) 283-5123.
<<< If you are in the Medical Field...get Medical Supplies that are in short supply to where they are badly needed... get on the phone - get it done.>>>
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Pick up the Phone... call that 1-800 number, make a direct cash donation; or more importantly ask them for a quick list of actual supplies they they will need.
Ask them if they can receive Fed Ex,or UPS deliveries - get a physical address.... go to U-HAUL - get a Large Packing Box... get to WalMart - buy some care packages:
Duct Tape, Tarps, Cable Ties, Bungee Cords, Nylon Rope, A Ultility Knife, or Scissors to cut it all; Batteries, Flashlights, 5 Gal Water Jugs, packages of Socks, Underwear, shoes, T-Shirts, Shorts, Paper Towels, Toilet Paper, Toiletries & Personal Care Items, Bath Towels, Baby Wipes, Diapers, Hats, Sunglasses, Umbrella's, Gym Bags, Back Packs, Pens, Pencils, Notebooks, Pre-Paid Cell Phones, or Phone Cards, Small Utitility Tool Kits, books, magazine, Walkman's, paperback books....
Pack it Up and get it shipped - today, Tuesday at the latest.
People are going to need more than just basic shelter, food and water...those supplies are badly in need.
Clothes are going to be very important....many people left, or were rescued with only the clothes on their backs.
Buy some 3-packs of underwear, t-shirts and socks of 3 to 4 size ranges, 3-4 sizes of Tennis Shoes, Knee High Rubber Farm Style Boots, Fishing Hip-Waders for those in areas still flooded... use your imagination & creativity - all of these items are in need.
Go to a Big & Tall Men's Shop , or a Plus-Size Ladies shop and buy some large size clothing... these clothing sizes are always in short-supply during disasters.
Pack and Label used clothes by size and type... get on the phone...find a local charity that is collecting clothes in your local community and drop off these supplies there, or find an agency where you can ship these items off to.
Local TV Stations in many US Cities are having Large Collection Drives with Tractor Trailers being loaded with items that will be delivered to people in need... find a collection site that is ready to ship - NOW... and get them a donation - NOW.
People who are going to be in Public Shelters for some time.. may appreciate more than life's basic necessities.
For kids; buy some educational books, puzzles, gameboy's & electronic games; buy batteries of every size and type; buy some footballs, basketballs & soccerballs; buy some dolls and misc toys.
Something else that is often forgotten are Pet's and Animals.
Do Google Searches for Humane Societies and Animal Shelters in the affected area's:
google.com
Get on the Phone... call, ask what they need - if it's cash, donate cash; if it's supplies - ask them if they can receive UPS,or FED EX shipments... ask them if there is an accessable local PetSmart, or PetCo - where you can call and buy $100 of Pet Food, or needed Supplies and have it donated to the local Animal Shelter etc...call your Local Veterinarian and ask them if locally, they are collecting and sending Pet & Animal Medical Supplies to the dissaster area and ask if you can help.
- 30 minutes and probably 3, or 4 calls and you can do something good....and YOU WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE in someone's life.
Use your imagination, use your creativity, get on the computer, do some searches - find some organizations in need and then get on the phone and find those that logistically are able to accept resources and then get to the Store and pack some care packages up and do SOMETHING - TODAY... PLEASE, do it NOW.
Do not let these people loose HOPE... make some calls, get to a WalMart, box up some clothing and get to a collection center, make a donation where & how it can be most quickly & efficiently utilized....and DO IT NOW... TIME IS OF ESSENCE.
Contact your local Salvation Army, Church & Faith Based Charities and do something TODAY... Please.
If you can do more... if you are a business owner and you have skilled workers, or transportation vehicles... take a few days out of your schedule - make some phone calls, find out what resources are needed and where they can be logistically received and get packed up and get going...
I'm leaving in a couple hours with 2 Large Construction Trailers full of Repair Materials & Tools , some Clothes, Toiletries and Personal Items and some supplies for a niche that's personal to me... Dogs and Pets.
Some friends and fellow business owners and I are donating our time and we're going to spend a week putting our resources to work and I think most importantly; we going to deliver 2 Trailer Loads of supplies that we all know are needed NOW... not 2 weeks from now. It really isn't that much... how many days do we waste in the course of a year ? Is one less Holiday weekend at the Lake, by the BBQ, or watching College Football going to really impact our lives ? Of course not.
We are going to do what only took 48 hours to put together and will cost us less than what a vacation week would otherwise...
I think for those that can... it's the least we can do.
I think it's important for all of us to do what we can do.
I am humbled by what the Medical Personnel of this dissaster have done.
September 11th made Hero's of our Police & Fire Personnel...and justifably so.
This dissaster is making Hero's of the Selfless sacrifice that our Health Care workers who stayed behind to man Hospital and Medical Centers without Power and Security....and all that they have done.
We all need to do what we can.
Thru local Churches we'll find a family, or two that we can do help do some emergency repairs for and when we're done we'll leave behind our tools with a local church keep to loan out to local residents as needed....sadly, it will be years before those tools lay idle..
We pooled together a reasonable cash donation that we've decided that we will use to adopt 1 Family and to move them out of a Public Shelter and into a Hotel, or Motel and pay their expenses for perhaps 4 to 6 weeks and get them some clothes and personal items to help them rebuild their lives.
I can't imagine what it would be like to be bussed out of your home city and to a Stadium, or a Military Base perhaps hundreds of miles away and then to have to sleep on a Cot and stand in Food Lines with your family, with just the clothes on your back.. now Homeless and without dignity. What do they tell their kids ? How do they tell them - it's going to be okay - when it's not ?
...that should be humbling and hopefully, a catalyst to do something - TODAY, NOW.
My Friends and I are going to do what we can do - what is the least we should do... we'll adopt 1 Family and hopefully give them some dignity and help them settle into a more comfortable environment from which to be able to rebuild their lives.
...pool resources at work, with local business owners, with your Church, or Family Members and find the way to help just 1 Family... it will make a difference and it's something that we all can do.
Don't let these people loose HOPE.
America needs to dig deep and find the best within ourselves and we need to ACT NOW... RIGHT NOW, TODAY... and help.
PLEASE - do what you can - and do it NOW..... for too many people - there is no "later"...and no tomoroow.
ACT NOW.... DO IT NOW.
Please, do not let HOPE - be lost.
Be Thankfull that you are safe, in your Homes and with your Families this Labor Day Weekend and take the time to just do ONE THING... one noble act.... 30 minutes of phone calls, one shopping trip to WalMart.... one trip to a donation Center... and more if you can.
Thank You, |
