Friday, May 6, 2016

A little generosity can make a tragic situation a little bit better.

I am writing this to let you know how much I love our community and am a firm believer in helping neighbors. The tragic flooding last month caused our city to come to a standstill, yet worse, people were left homeless, irreplaceable belongings were lost, furniture ruined, and lots and lots of carpet and sheet rock require replacement. The neighborhood across from our facility was hit hard and several of our current tenants homes were flooded. Wanting to help, I told everyone I knew and posted an ad on Facebook that I would allow anyone affected by the flood to use a 10x10 storage unit free of charge for 60 days, availability permitting. Many people took me up on our offer for help. The look of shock on the flood victim's faces, their disbelief at the situation, and the overwhelming clean up ahead, did not deter from their sense of gratitude at the help we offered. The units were empty, people needed them to store what belongings they could salvage, we offered, and they gratefully took them. Further, the teachers at Black Elementary wanted to help keep their kids spirits up while they were out of school for the week by throwing a hot dog picnic for them. We were asked to provide parking since there was no room in the neighborhood as they did not want to hinder the massive clean up operations going on. Of course, I agreed, never realizing the entire school staff would take over every free space of land we have. The sheer number of volunteers was incredible. Can you imagine how happy those kids were having a picnic with their teachers? The teachers and staff at Black Elementary, also, donated cleaning supplies and bottles of water and handed out gift cards to families. There were countless acts of generosity and support immediately following the flood, as well as, continuing efforts. My friends have turned their birthday party show with local bands at Rudyard's on May 13th into a benefit for our friends, a family that lost everything in the flood and like so many, did not have flood insurance on their contents. I, also, want to give a huge thank you to my mom, part owner of Cypress Creek Storage, who immediately opened up her home to my friends who lost everything. You have to understand, they had a home one day and the next it was taken away from them by the flood waters. Going from being a homeowner to homeless is shocking, terrifying, and overwhelming, especially when your daughter is only twelve months old. The important thing is we all come together and help in whatever way we can, sometimes it's offering a place to stay, sometimes it's volunteering your time, sometimes it's donating money or items, and sometimes it's simply an offer of a dry place to store your belongings.

Black Elementary Staff
For further information on the support from the CFISD community: http://www.cfisd.net

To help my friends Jeff, Kristin, and baby Simone https://www.gofundme.com/ujzyuj2s