Sunday, September 04, 2005

Hurricane Katrina

Mallory from the New Orleans Craft Mafia, via Suzanne:

plea for help on behalf of all Gulf Coast and New Orleans
residents


First off, I'd like to let you know that I'm safe, our founder, Rachelle is safe, Liz of Itchy Stitches is safe, and I'm pretty sure Mags and Ze were both out of town when the storm came through. I'm not sure of whereabouts/safety of our other members yet, but once I know anything I'll pass that info along.

I drafted this yesterday on my way out of the storm affected areas. PLEASE forward this to anyone, everyone you can think of. Friends, family, individuals, corporations, national and internation news media. Also, if you feel so inclined, feel free to print out copies of this and hand them out to friends and family or even post them up in your hometown.

Additionally, I'd like to ask you to contact your congresspeople and state representatives immediately and tell them to get more national guard and law enforcement officials down there ASAP. The stories I'm hearing from friends and friends of friends who are stuck in New Orleans and even in Baton Rouge are horrifying, it's turning into complete anarchy.



I am writing to plea on behalf of all residents of the Gulf Coast region, from Louisiana to Florida. I am one of the lucky ones – I braved the storm and got out to be able to tell about it. I grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi but have lived and worked primarily in New Orleans for the last four years. Some friends and I evacuated that city late Saturday night to stay in Gulfport where we felt safer from the storm surge and flooding. Eight of us rode it out in my mother's home, listening to and feeling the roaring winds and rains for almost 12 hours. Our back porch roof was ripped off completely, and the roof over our kitchen was punctured, leaving the kitchen in shambles from the effects of wind and rain. We count ourselves lucky, the house is still livable and everyone who stayed there is safe. My mother's business and entire source of income, however, is completely destroyed. All of my friends from New Orleans have given up hope of salvaging their homes and possessions. Several friends, including my boyfriend's father, are still stranded in New Orleans. My boyfriend and I were able to make it out of Gulfport to the nearest open airport, which was Baton Rouge, to fly north to help his company relocate and continue to do business. He is one of the lucky ones – he still has a job. When we left my mother's
house there was absolutely no communication in or out of the area, and we barely knew the status of Biloxi, the next city over, let alone much information about New rleans.

I implore you, I plead with you, and I beg you, HELP US. Millions of people are homeless, without the basic necessities of life, or worse yet, hurt or dead. Many of these jobs and homes will be irreplaceable. The majority of these people have no way right now to ask you for help themselves. I'm sure they won't mind me requesting assistance on their behalf. Last year I felt the effects of the tsunami in Southeast Asia from the other side of the world. Myself and many of my friends donated what we could to help with the relief efforts there. All we can do right now is hope that the people of the world will be as generous towards us as we tried to be for those who suffered through that tragedy. I am begging you, do what you can and put yourself in our shoes. Please know, I have seen friends and neighbors banding together to help each other make it through this experience. I will be the first to condemn those who are seen looting useless personal property, but please understand that those who have been left behind are forced to do what they must to survive at this point. They annot do much without outside help. This is what we need from all of you so urgently at this time. Please don't let us down – we can't make it without you.


Mallory Whitfield
August 31, 2005
________________________

If you're like me, you may be feeling at a loss on how to help. One answer is to donate money. That's kind of the no brainer to anyone who has money to give. I'm trying to think of something more meaningful to do. Just a few disperate thoughts:

1. Give Blood.
Blood is always needed. You can find a blood drive at GiveLife.org. And if you have a space, please consider sponsoring a blood drive!

2. Quilters Comfort America
This is how I'm finding a meaningful way to help. Between having plenty of quilt making supplies around, having those skills and knowing how comforting a quilt can be, I'm taking action in this crafty way. All details are here.

3. If you're donating goods -
That's super. One way you can greatly help is to box and clearly label your donations. There's massive amounts of goodwill and energy going towards people give things - just think about how you can help those mountains be organized. Ex. label a box "Women's Size 16 clothes" and if you can seperate your items into seperate boxes. Be specific. It can only help those who are sorting out all that goodwill and energy!

Also, Crafters United over at Etsy has handmade goods to buy and whose sales go to Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.

That's it for here. Be well.

posted on 8:54 AM by Brandy