Community Kindness Update
From what I’ve read in local newspapers, listened to on TV and radio, this area’s kindness is overflowing.
This is only one of the truly amazing aspects here that I love.
Hurricane Ike devastated my areas and many more in the wee hours of Saturday, September 13, 2008. Wind and storm surge took away all that many had.
Those that still had homes standing afterwards could not come home still because of lack of basic services such as electricity, water and sewer. There was a severe safety concern as well, causing officials to mandate the continued lockout of the area and then curfews once allowed back in. Then there was concern that the truly low-life of our human race would take advantage of whatever they could to steal. Plain ol’ trashy people live among us.
Just as soon as we were allowed back into the areas we began the chore of cleaning up the mess. Those that finished their chores first moved on to help neighbors.
Food, clothes, household items, cleaning supplies, blood, money and anything you could think of that others might need we donated to others, organizations and schedules drives.
Organizations and individuals came from near and far to help.
Updates as I know on the kindness of others:
KBMT TV Beaumont hosted a drive for the Southeast Texas Food Bank on Tuesday, September 29th. In 12 hours over $41,000 and between 20 and 30 thousand pounds of food were donated.
Hurricane Ike Relief Drive on October 2 – 4th was hosted by KBTV Beaumont, Clear Channel radio stations, The Salvation Army and Market Basket grocery stores. That drive, too, was televised, or at least a large portion of those days, and had stocked three 18 wheeler trucks that I remember but I haven’t found statics and totals publicized.
Mid County Kindness cleanup of Bridge City was October 5th. The local newspapers report that over 200 teams averaging 15 to 20, and some as many as 50, pitched in to assist the residents there. They report over 3,000 volunteers were served lunch. One resident in one report commented that an estimate of 5,000 volunteers would not be an overstatement. Most had taken sack lunches on their own. Everyone took water, shovels, work gloves, trucks and the like.
Folks, storm surge water is nasty, slick, smells to high heaven and includes dead and alive varmints with all the trash. The storm surge is in the yard, in every room of the house, cars, and high up walls and vegetation.
Sabine Pass Cleanup was held October 11th. The Port Arthur News reports that hundreds of volunteers came to the small community that was virtually destroyed on the coast. Their goal was to work with 400 homes there as opposed to the 3,200 of the Bridge City community.
Rose City Cleanup was held October 11 – 12th. That area sustained water damage and surges caused by Hurricane Ike from surrounding tributaries of the Neches River. I haven’t heard or read a tally of that effort.
Mid County Kindness will assist La Belle next but I don’t have the date.
I fell and pulled almost every muscle in my back cleaning up my own property and haven’t been able to contribute anything but money to these causes, which I’ve done.
My own property will just wait on my recovery, but I’m far inland and just have a mess with tree limbs and such.
Please be kind to your neighbors wherever you are.
