I had a dream last night that I was sipping coffee and eating beignets at Café Du Monde in New Orleans. The sun was shining and the air was warm. My sisters were with me and we were laughing because we all had powdered sugar on ourselves.
I woke up with a smile on my face.
Then I turned on the news.
Then I remembered. And I felt hopeless.
I still can’t believe what has happened in that part of the country. I watched more news than is probably healthy over the holiday weekend. I guess I was hoping to hear some good news. I didn’t seem to find much.
The only thing that’s made me feel better about all of this was to do something. My fantastic company was kind enough to make a very generous donation to the Red Cross and has also committed to matching all donations made by its’ employees.
If anyone is looking for ways to donate time, resources or cash, here are some links:
American Red Cross
Salvation Army
Donate Blood
Benjamin Wagner (This guy writes one of my very favorite blogs. The benefits here are threefold – 1) You get to help a worthy cause, 2) He’ll match your donation and 3) You get an MP3 of his cover of “Biloxi” – so good!
If you live in Denver, you can purchase tickets to the 9/12 Dave Matthews show at Red Rocks. They added an extra show and all the proceeds will go to the relief effort. Tickets go on sale today and if you’ve never seen a show at Red Rocks, DMB would be a great first show there. They are also having a food drive at each of the shows so if you’re going, be sure to take a donation to drop off.
I don't want this to come across as too preach-y. I just know that doing my part made me feel that in some small way, I’d helped. And somewhere in the helping, I’d found my hope.
3 comments:
Definitely right.
You know, I spent two hours watching Oprah from Monday and Tuesday, and I can't remember the last time I cried so much. It really is horrible. But they did say that the financial help and supplies that have been donated to date have been astronomical. What most evacuees need now is temporary shelter, and people to help rebuild. I only wish I could go down there to help, but realistically I know that’s not possible. I truly believe that prayers work wonders, too – which is what I am sending every time I hear more news.
Thanks for the website silverlining. I think you made a good point.
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