Hurricane Ida Relief

Yes, yes, I know. I'm terrible.

Louisiana is going to need assistance for a long time. Here's how you can help:

Cajun Navy Relief - cajunnavy-forms.nogginoca.com/donate.html

All Hands and Hearts - allhandsandhearts.org 

Project HOPE - projecthope.org

World Central Kitchen - wck.org

Direct Relief - directrelief.org

I know how hard it is to move forward after your life and livelihood have been wrecked. My heart goes out to them. I'm too sick and poor to do anything but share info these days, but I do what I can when I can. We did have the storm here as well, but to a very small degree in comparison. My brother and I lost power for about 5 hours, but were otherwise fine.

Thanks for all you do to help those in need.

15 Years Since Katrina, and Laura Relief Info

Every time I leave my apartment, I see evidence of Hurricane Katrina right in front of my face in the form of a rusted metal sign that used to say Sonic Drive-In. Now, it simply says the word “Closed”, and has remained that way for 15 years.

Mom experienced Camille in ‘69 and talked about it the rest of her life. Ask anyone who loses everything overnight, and they will tell you that feeling stays. Despite moving on, Katrina has never truly left me.

And at this moment, there are people in Texas and Louisiana who are wearing that unwanted badge. Let’s help them if we can.

Heaven knows they came to our aid even when others failed to.

I won’t forget. I couldn’t if I tried.

Worldwide disaster relief, including Hurricane Laura:

https://www.directrelief.org/

Free meals in affected areas:

https://wck.org/

https://operationbbqrelief.org/

News reports with many ways to help:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/us/hurricane-laura-how-to-help.html

https://www.wlox.com/2020/08/27/list-louisiana-relief-donation-locations/

Thanks for reading.

Hurricane Dorian Relief

Credit: Forbes

My friend Kelly over at Live Life Logically has compiled a list of ways to help those affected by Hurricane Dorian. You can find it here. Thanks Kelly!

Hurricane and Tsunami Relief 2018

I apologize for the delay in regards to the recent natural disasters. I've had a turbulent time in my head lately. I did some mild prep for Hurricane Michael, but it missed me completely, and I do not take that for granted whatsoever. I'm devastated for the Florida gulf coast and parts of Georgia in their immense loss and suffering. All of the memories of Hurricane Katrina came back, and I'm sad to know that others are now living the nightmare that my neighbors and I once did.

While my site was offline, a tsunami occurred in Indonesia, and Hurricane Florence caused terrible flooding in the Carolinas. All of these folks still need a lot of help. I can tell you first-hand that disaster recovery is a terribly long and stressful process.

I felt like the best thing to do was consult Charity Navigator for a list of organizations aiding the areas in need. Following are the links to those lists:

Hurricane Michael: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=6806

Hurricane Florence: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=6709

Indonesian Tsunami: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=6781

As always, Operation BBQ Relief has deployed to both hurricane-affected areas in the U.S. to cook and serve free hot meals. I've followed them for years, and they are as legitimate as it gets. Strictly volunteer-driven, these folks have served over two million BBQ dinners since their launch in 2011. They often need volunteers and always need monetary donations.

Let's keep everyone in our thoughts.

Since I haven't mentioned it yet - Hurricane Michael

The barometric pressure is trying its best to wipe me out, and it's not even here yet. The lower the pressure, the worse the symptoms, and Michael is a catastrophic category 4 storm. As you can see in this boring, short video, I'll be on the far west side, so I'm ok. I think my biggest challenge will be my muscles and my head (which is screaming...my ears are killing me) while the storm is doing its thing on the coastline. Once it passes, I'll recover and share information on helping our neighbors to the east who will undoubtedly see their lives change.

The best place for hurricane updates is of course the NHC. They're also on FB and Twitter.

Talk to you soon.

Help For Guatemala and Puerto Rico

Guatemala is currently suffering from an eruption of Volcán de Fuego. Charity Navigator suggests giving to the following organizations who are there providing emergency services:

International Relief Teams https://www.irteams.org/

Global Giving https://www.globalgiving.org/

Catholic Relief https://www.crs.org/

Children's Hunger Fund http://childrenshungerfund.org/

World Vision https://www.worldvision.org/

Save The Children is also on site. Thanks to musician Enrique Iglesias for the heads up on that.


The situation in Puerto Rico continues to be devastating and infuriating. Our government has committed an unforgivable act in insulting and turning its back on our fellow U.S. citizens. These organizations are on the ground trying to help. Please consider:

http://dayglowmusic.org/dayglow-relief/ - They are personally flying in supplies.

https://www.google.org/crisis/puertorico-relief/ - Google is currently matching donations, which are being split between the following:

https://www.hispanicfederationunidos.org/

https://www.mercycorps.org/gallery/puerto-rico/rebuilding-puerto-rico-google


If you can't give, you can always help by spreading the word. Thanks for thinking of others in their time of need.

Well, it's my turn to get hit...

Both photos credited to NOAA National Hurricane Center

I was hoping we were done with Hurricane Season this year. Nope. I'm probably getting a direct hit from this one, but the good news is that it is not expected to be nearly as destructive as previous storms. Still, we are under a hurricane warning and storm surge warning. I don't have the funds to evacuate, nor the vehicle with mine currently without power steering, but I've made all of the preparations I can make to be as safe as I can at my apartment.

If Nate continues at the speed it is currently traveling, it'll make landfall here tomorrow evening.

Talk to you soon!

Puerto Rico, The Caribbean, Nepal, Mexico, and Oregon...how to help.

Click here for a few ways to help Puerto Rico.

Edit 9/28: Here's another great list for PR and the islands.

A few more organizations involved in assisting people through various disasters:

http://www.portlight.org/

https://adra.org/emergency-adra-responding-to-multiple-major-disasters/

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/about-us/

https://hispanicfederation.org/donate

https://www.convoyofhope.org/

United States Postal Service is back up and running in the territories. If you want to send something directly to someone who lives in and is assisting St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands:

Drew Alston
9715 Estate Thomas PMB #115
St.Thomas, VI 00802

He can be followed here.

I've confirmed that this is a legit funding page for the Oregon wildfire:
https://www.gofundme.com/PNWOWgivesbackOR

And here is a GoFundMe for Puerto Rico:
https://www.gofundme.com/dontforgetpuertorico

Please note that I am not personally affiliated with any organization I've listed here, but I believe they are doing something to help those in need during these hard times.

Thanks for reading.

Let's Help Florida and the Virgin Islands

Irma is gone, but there is much to be done. While some areas were lucky, others were definitely not. There is plenty of wind and water damage. Many people lost homes, businesses, and vehicles, and sadly I've learned that there have been some lives lost as well.

Here are some places who could greatly use donations:

SOS Children's Village received damage, affecting 70 children in foster care. Their site is here.

St. John Rescue covers the island of St. John and surrounding areas. You can donate directly on their site or their GoFundMe page. 

Operation BBQ Relief is serving meals. See their efforts here.

Next Level Church in Ft. Myers is accepting donations for community relief efforts.

The Salvation Army

I don't support the Red Cross for personal reasons. Do what you like.

Thanks for thinking about those affected by natural disasters. It looks like we have another one, Maria, headed this way. I'll keep you posted.