It’s Raining it’s Pouring: How You Can Help Texans
Today was suppose to be the day we dove back into all our homeschool curriculum–Start the morning with a walk around our block (it was an idea we wrote down in our plans, to start the day with some fresh air and getting our blood pumping). The weather had other plans.
At almost the same time Harvey hit the Texas coast I came down with aches and chills. I’m always telling people I never get sick, but this weekend I swallowed my pride and sat in bed. I was totally worn down. Which was frustrating because I often like to use the weekend to try get ahead a little bit, but I spent two whole days in bed.
In Austin we’ve been getting a lot of rain. It’s finally started to let up a bit this morning. Our police force was put on emergency status to help with all the flooding and downed trees. Here at home we lot a piece of our fence and discovered water is seeping through one of our walls. Frustrating, yes, but nothing compared to what’s going on in Houston.
I sat my kids down to watch some videos explaining a hurricane, and hurricane vs tornado. The science part of the devastation of what was happening was one thing, but last night, as we when my daughter caught a glimpse of the news and the people literally under water she didn’t know how to respond. It’s different when you see actual faces of people hit by the disaster.
If you’re like me you may have been avoiding the news for awhile… You know, I haven’t been able to take much of it myself for the last several months. But sometimes it take seeing to believing, and to get people inspired to help.
Prayers for Texas are great. If you have the ability to extend a little more those displaced or under water, please try. Here are some suggestions if you don’t know where to start:
How you can help
- You can donate to the American Red Cross for disaster relief, specifically for Hurricane Harvey
- You can donate to the Texas Diaper Bank as many displaced families are in need of diapers, formula and other baby items
- All Hands is a non-profit with hands on the ground in Houston assisting with response and recovery
- Houston Humane Society is a group helping care for and shelter pets in the area
My kids and I will be spending our first day back at school talking a little more about the cost of disasters and deciding how we can best help.
Stay safe, stay dry!
With love,
Jennifer
I had a similar experience with my son this morning, showing him pictures of all the people being rescued. It was really lovely to be able to show him such amazing examples of human kindness and good will. He particularly enjoyed seeing some cows being moved to higher ground. We then prayed together. One of my favorite things about homeschool are learning opportunities such as these.
Thank you for the suggestions as to how to help from afar, I know myself and many others are wondering how to do so and these are great ideas. I can only imagine having small children or pets in a flood of that magnitude so the diaper bank and humane society are perfect. Stay safe and dry!
Thanks for your comment Isa! I’m so glad he got to see the kindness people are showing from all around. And I’m so glad the suggestions are helpful! We are getting a drive together to gather supplies for displaced families.
That is a very good tip… Many thanks for sharing this one.
A must read article!