A Shameless Plug, Forgive me.
As I mentioned before, my dear wife and a neighbor have asked what they can
do for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in order to spread some Christmas
cheer to what has been for many of them a very trying year.
They have taken it upon themselves to organize a drive to collect gifts and
still-needed essentials for the folks in the affected areas. I have
volunteered my truck, trailer, fuel, and a week of my time from
thompsoncarpentry <http://www.thompsoncarpentry.com/> to take deliver the
goods to the city they have sought to adopt. Their local contact has
supplied them with the names and addresses of families that could use a bit
of help, goodwill, and the very spirit of giving that is Christmas!
The "official" letter.
*Holiday** Help *
*For the Victims of *
*Hurricane Katrina!*
Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive and deadliest natural disaster to
hit the United States. The town of Bay Saint Louis , Mississippi, took a
direct hit all homes and business were damaged and most were completely
destroyed.
The men and women of the Bay Saint Louis Public Works department have been
working around the clock since the storm hit to get the town back on its
feet. They are the front line of defense during and following the storm,
clearing the way for police and firefighters to do their jobs.
These public works employees have all been forced out of their homes and are
now living in FEMA trailers. With so much work to do, not only for their
town, but for themselves as well, and so few resources to work with, these
folks are going to need some help to bring some cheer to their families this
holiday season.
*On December 19 th, my family and I will be driving a donated truck and
trailer to this area to deliver gifts directly to the Public Works employees
and their families in time for the holidays. *
* *
*You can help by adopting a specific family or family member from our list,
or by donating new toys or gift cards for: Walmart, **Home Depot, Menards,
JCPenney, Sears or Old Navy. **(Bay Saint Louis businesses are still closed;
however these stores have re-opened in Gulfport, about 25 minutes away.)
Thank you!*
* *
* *
Please contact Peg Rousar-Thompson at 598-0834 ( gravewords@yahoo.com) for
more information.
* *
* *
Take a look at pictures of post-Katrina Bay Saint Louis at:
http://www.pbase.com/dbphotos/hurricane_katrina
Read about Bay Saint Louis' efforts to rebuild at:
http://risingfromruin.msnbc.com/the_towns/
I would like to Thank Blake and Roy from
BeatRacing.com<http://www.beatracing.com/>for pooling their funds to
purchase a set of tools to present as a gift, as
well as volunteering the time to assemble several new bicycles donated by
others.
Additional thanks go to Autumn Hoover and the Key Clubs from the area High
schools who donated their time last weekend wrapping presents at Barnes and
Nobles, Thanks to Barnes and Noble to allow the group to be there for this
cause, and to the group to donate all they earned to the cause. Whoever
says teenagers are all bad hasn't met these kids J
Thanks To Bryan Wyatt for helping me with the grammer on this letter :)
The generosity of all involved has been nothing short of incredible!
The Truck and trailer are about 60% full at this time, and donations are
still coming!
*A reminder, I will have an empty trailer coming back from the area ,
through Chicago and to Racine Wis. and would donate any funds directly to
this cause, that some one wanted to pay for anything trucked for you. *
*A Miata fits nice in the trailer, as well as spridgets!!*
The "bus/train" will be leaving Dec 17th (we've updated the schedule so the
teenage volunteers can get back to their families by Christmas)
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