Devastated

I feel completely and utterly devastated by the loss and destruction that has wreaked havoc on the lives of so many in LA, AL, MS and FL. Louisiana is my home state, the place where I can hang my hat. I'm from a smaller town, Monroe, which is located in northeastern LA and was not affected by Hurricane Katrina. I'm fortunate that none of my immediate family was affected by the hurricane. However, I have many friends that live there, have families there or know others that are somehow affected by Katrina.

My heart goes out to all of these people who have lost family members, homes, ways of life, jobs. Most were lucky to escape, but have no home to come back, no jobs to go back. A way of life and culture is being lost and that too is heart-breaking. I've heard from so many of friends that are in TX that have family living with them.
My mother told me some of my sister's friends from college have family living with them in Atlanta.

I feel like I don't know what to do, but that I want to do something. This time I can't sit idly by. I just can't.

I received an email today about a relief effort spearheaded by Kim Rutledge, a member of the Crocheters Guild of America. Many of the hurricane victims are being evacuated to shelters in Houston, but many are going to other cities across Louisisana. Kim lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, on the southern coast and many are being evacuated to the Cajun Dome and this facility does not have places for people to shower. Most people are coming with the clothes off their backs and have nothing. She is requesting anything you can spare, clothes, shoes, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. Also, if you have any yarn, she has a knitting machine that she can make baby blankets. Please see the link above to her site for an address and other places locally that you can send in your requests to help others.

Susan and Margene have set up a program for donations to the American Red Cross and then you can send an email to the address listed and be entered into a raffle to win prizes as well. Also, if you want to donate a prize, you can send an email to the same place for an address. Go see Margene's blog for more details.

Lastly, Shannon's soon-to-be mother-in-law is a quilter and is calling on all quilters to donate quilts for the Hurricane victims. This effort is called Quilts for Comfort and they are requesting that quilts be no smaller than baby crib size be donated, but something larger is also appreciated. See today's post on Shannon's blog for more information as well.

I've called the American Red Cross to see what I can do in terms of volunteering, please won't you do the same?