Reaching Out to Texas - Granite Grok

Reaching Out to Texas

texasThe news coverage of the epic flooding in Texas leaves me overwhelmed. It’s good to hear about relief efforts that let those of us at a distance reach out with practical help. I’m sure your inbox and social media feeds are full of appeals which you’ll respond as you’re able. Here are a few that touched a chord with me.

Before yesterday, I’d never heard of a diaper bank. Live and learn. The Texas Diaper Bank is distributing diapers to displaced families with infants and toddlers. Contributions will help the agency purchase and distribute what’s needed: texasdiaperbank.org. The site crashed for awhile yesterday, which I hope indicated lots of traffic. I expect the site will be up and running again soon.

Along the same lines, Dallas-based New Wave Feminists is having a flash-fundraiser through 1 p.m. Eastern time today (8/29). Diapers for the kids, and hygiene products for women: an area church put out a call for the needs, and NWF went into action. Their Facebook video from August 28 explains it. Don’t be put off by Destiny’s hair. It’s amazing. So is she. And her group of fearless pro-life women is for real.

Robert Kraft, noted sports fan, is offering to match all funds donated to the American Red Cross in support of Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Fund up to $1 million.

That said, watch large agencies like the Red Cross just as carefully as you’d watch a small local group for accountability. Here’s a sobering post from a woman whose family was affected by a disastrous tornado in Joplin, Missouri a few years back. “Find organizations that will take the money and use it to help the people it was intended to help.”

The same post – “How to Really Help Those Living Through a Disaster” – mentions the ultimate practical advice.

Do not forget about them. The news will eventually stop talking about it. Life will start to go on again. The new normal become more familiar… but please, please do not forget them. It took us a little over year before the physical things in our life were “back to normal” after the tornado. The emotional wounds took much, much longer to recover from and sometimes I still feel a bit of a sting. This ties back to giving of your time and praying. I would urge you to be a system of support for the long haul. Still praying, still helping, still supporting until restoration is complete.

That sounds a lot like “be a neighbor.” That works during close-to-home disasters, too.

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