Aid for evacuees in Austin…
When we heard that there were now evacuees in Austin we knew we had to do something. We made a drop today at the Salvation Army center downtown for the victims. They are the only charity I’ll support in times like this. I will never support the Red Cross and that belief was solidified yesterday after one of their local directors said “We need money not stuff. Take your stuff to the Salvation Army.” Yeah, I know it takes money to help out but you don’t turn away donations. Someone I know showed up at a local Red Cross shelter with $200 worth of bottled water. The lady asked if he had cash. When he said no they directed him across town to a drop point nowhere near where it would supposedly be used.
I went through my closet and found a lot of clothes I had that we’d bought at end-of-season sales. I donated almost 2 bags worth of brand-new men’s clothes. My son went through his toys and gave a giant box of stuffed animals and games for the kids. My wife did the sme. The truck couldn’t hold anymore stuff by the time we pulled out of the driveway. On the way downtown we stopped at Walgreens and picked up a basket full of toiletries (razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc, etc).
There were 6 guys out back waiting to unload cars with goods. We were in and out in under 2 minutes. They asked if I was donating my ‘jeep’ too. I told them the Land Rover was my baby but if they need a truck to haul goods around town it’s at their beck-and-call. 🙂 By the time we left there were 3 more cars behind us waiting to unload.
My son learned a bit about how other are not as fortunate as he is and didn’t mind one bit giving his toys so that other kids might have something to call their own.