Hello friends – I apologize for being away from this site for so long. I have missed our conversations, and I don’t plan to be away for so long again. I love chatting with everyone, getting feedback, hearing what makes people happy, makes them think, makes them tick.
So – a huge topic – Hurricane Harvey was bad enough – for people, communities, pets, economies, etc. And now comes Irma – could be even worse. Friends in the path, we’re thinking of you and hoping you are able to get away if possible.
Rescuers, responders, volunteers – keep up the good work.
We’re all in a state of “compassion fatigue” right now. What to do? How to help? Who to send checks to? What else can we do?
Even if we can’t do anything to directly help people impacted by Harvey and/or Irma, we can be kind and help our own neighbors locally, in small ways or large. We can smile at a stranger, we can pay for someone’s coffee, we can tell a mother with a screaming toddler that her babe is a beautiful child. You get the picture.
Beyond that, we can take a bit of time to figure out the best way to help our far-away neighbors. First piece of advice – don’t send “stuff” unless it’s specifically requested. The logistics of that (collecting, sorting, distributing) put way too much pressure on the teams on the ground. Send money, gift cards, etc. to organizations you know and trust.
Secondly, you don’t have to do anything immediately; there will be LOTS of time for long-term recovery (even our *small* flash flood in SE MN in 2007 took about 18 months for this to end, with not everyone being made completely whole) – there are organizations that deal specifically with this.
Take your time – figure out what resonates with you – volunteer in the affected areas if you can – donate if you can. And if you can’t do anything directly, as I mentioned above, take care of your own neighbors and your own community.
Kindness is appreciated and valued, no matter where it is directed.
Connector Beth 