One Way to Help Katrina Victims

Send a package from your home or business to someone that lost everything and likes what you like.

Sounds simplistic I know but I had to start this post with that line because too many people surfing the blogs will keep surfing after reading the first sentence. They might miss the rest of this post but hopefully the first line will sink in at a later date...

Big tragedy hits and it is ALL OVER the news. Help is needed here or there... Please send money NOW!!! DONATE THROUGH THIS PHONE NUMBER NOW! CLICK ON THIS LINK! SEND ME THE MONEY AND I'LL GET IT THERE! PAYPAL ACCEPTED!!!!

- I am rather loathe to send money to the big name outfits like the Red Cross and even one of the best, the Salvation Army. I always feel that whatever I send will get gobbled up in the confusion. - Because of this I wait before sending a check any direction and often times it ends up I send nothing.

After the Tsunami I waited and sent money to the only person I KNEW in Thailand, that is, Glenn "Jeep" Holthaus in Pattaya, Thailand of the Thai Kids Charity Project - The money hit there while the UN leeches were still sitting by their poolside, sucking up expensive booze in the 4-5 star hotels mere blocks from the devastation. 'Jeep' Holthaus made sure the funds went towards something the locals needed. Funds you send him will help the little ones. - Don't hesitate to contact him or send him funds. (PayPal accepted! - Where did I hear that before?) - So where to send money or goods in the Katrina aftermath?

Listening to Hugh Hewitt on the radio I heard him talking about churches helping churches, schools helping schools, construction companies helping construction companies... - I called my pastor, Barry Griffing (Google that name!), and asked him if he knew any pastors that might be affected by Katrina. - It affected his memory cells in a positive fashion and he is checking on a name that came to mind. Hopefully this weekend our church will take up an offering for specific needs and in the near future as mail service is restored we can send packages of specific items needed, requested and desired. Be it food, blankets or books. We will not be opposed to sending cash through PayPal either.

For years I've been wheeling and dealing on ebay primarily with one of my main loves, that is, books. I have cartons of books in my garage. I've been searching for a small, soggy used bookstore or eBay seller outside of the big cities in the devastated areas that could use a few cartons of books mailed to them. I'm sure through Google, eBay and Yahoo I'll find the right place. Suggestions will be considered. - I'm reminded of a fellow I met in Arkansas whose garage was a lending library of sorts. I forget the trade rates he had set up, bring 2-3 books & take one or what, but he loved books and delighted in meeting others with the same emotion. I was just passing through had no books to trade, other than the one I was reading at the time. He reluctantly took cash for the books I wanted. - I'm certain that a like minded person will be happy to get some books to start replacing what they have lost.

Imagine a month from now if a fellow that owns a small construction company, say in Nevada or Oklahoma, looks around his yard for duplicate equipment and sees a small (working of course) cement mixer that has not been used for a while. He fills the drum up with a hand drill, sabre saw, hammer, pliers, assorted screwdrivers, asks his employees to throw their donations in the drum and sends it to someone he KNOWS through contacts that has lost his livelihood.

In a couple of weeks from today a lawyer pulls a couple of his computers out of his network, cleans the hard drives for ethical and clientele privacy reasons (To hell with the legal reasons) and ships them to a lawyer he KNOWS through contacts has lost his business. Included in the package is a subscription to an online legal research site to help replace the books lost. He would be confident that a snake with a pattern similar to his own would be receiving something needed to continue the deception first started with Eve. - (OK - Disclaimer - Previous line was designed for humor relief. It in no way was written as a disparaging remark meant to slime any snakes, living or dead.)

A gardener sending a check or gift certificate to Sears to another gardener to cover the cost of a lawn mower and weed whacker. (I like 'Extreme Makeover' - I have shopped as Sears as a result! Great advertising program! {disclaimer - No monies are received for advertisement of any products or endorsements...) An electrician shipping duplicate tools of the trade he has gathered through the years. This guy really has a giving heart and sends the BEST of each as opposed to the ones he quit using. A seamstress sends a box of quilting material. Butcher sends a set of knives. Baker sends some money for flour and starter for sourdough. Candlestick Stick Maker sends a ton of wax and some oils for flavoring.

Think of your trade, career, interests or hobby. Look about your house. Ask your boss and fellow workers to participate. Use the internet to find someone who has been wiped out. Watch for and avoid scammers. Find someone in need and ship a package (and more) directly to them as soon as the roads are clear.

The government checks some of these folks will be receiving will be nice and helpful but will be used up quick. The thing they will remember most are the gifts you send directly to them. Start searching today and don't be thinking 6 months from now, "Gee, I should'a"....

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