I'll never think of "Tarzan Boy" the same way again.

So I was over at this chick's blog and she had a link to her myspace page. And i made an awesome discovery (so I'm slow...)

Who needs coffee when you have this!

Breaking Ground

"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." -– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Soon I begin a new experiment. I'll be testing the very limits of my own courage by beginning a new career (in addition to the things I already do). It's not that I'm inexperienced - I've got extensive knowledge and practice in the field I've chosen - it's that it draws from very personal skills: My creativity. As most artists of any kind will tell you, we are our own worst critics!

The best part of the whole thing is that it's multi-faceted. It both caters to my need to create and to my fickle attention span. It allows me to start small and progress to a quite large goal in a rather moderate time frame.

The following article was in a forum, and is most likely one of those passed around as a chain letter. This is one of the few I've found relevant and very touching:

THE ONE FLAW IN WOMEN:
By the time the Lord made woman, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An angel appeared and said, "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

And the Lord answered, "Have you seen my spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable and able to run on diet coke and leftovers, have a lap that can hold four children at one time, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart-and she will do everything with only two hands."

The angel was astounded at the requirements. "Only two hands!? No way! And that's just on the standard model? That's too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."

"But I won't," the Lord protested. "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hour days."

The angel moved closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?", asked the angel.

The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason and negotiate."

The angel then noticed something, and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak," the Lord corrected, "that's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love, her loneliness, her grief and her pride."

The angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Woman is truly amazing."

And she is! Women have strengths that amaze men. They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy. They smile when they want to scream. They sing when they want to cry. They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous. They fight for what they believe in. They stand up to injustice. They don't take "no" for an answer when they believe there is a better solution. They go without so their family can have. They go to the doctor with a frightened friend. They love unconditionally. They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards. They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding. Their hearts break when a friend dies. They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left. They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you. The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning. They bring joy, hope and love. They have compassion and ideals. They give moral support to their family and friends.

Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN, IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH!

author unknown

I know you're going to want to ask, but don't. This one's for me. Due to certain privacy issues, I will limit my updates to the gauging of my successes. To those of you who know: Shhhh! You're privileged with the information, so please respect it. And thank you all for the support you give me!

What really happened in New Orleans: From the inside.

Want to know the straight truth from someone who was actually in the city and survived the aftermath of Katrina? Want to know who the real heroes were? You might be surprised at what you find out.

Baby Susan Anne Catherine Torres August 2, 2005 - September 11, 2005

With all the sadness in our nation recently, this one adds another tear to the ocean. I just received this via an emailing:

Late last night, five-week-old Susan Anne Catherine Torres passed away
from heart failure at Children's National Medical Center in
Washington, D.C., following emergency surgery to repair a perforated
intestine. The surgery was attempted after a sudden deterioration in
her condition over the weekend.

After the efforts of this summer to bring her into the world, this is
obviously a devastating loss for the Torres and Rollin families. We
wish to thank all of you who have sustained us in prayer over the past
17 weeks. It was our fondest wish that we could have been able to
share Susan's homecoming with all of you.

The family will be making no further statements at this time. All media
inquiries can be directed to Children's National Medical Center.

For more information, or to donate to the family, please visit this site.

Vomitous personages (or - Ode to the fraudulent and narrow-minded)

For someone in particular not mentioned on this post. You know who you are.

There are some people who never cease to amaze me with their ignorance of the real world. Not everyone is born into a world of privilege, and many people have to fight for most of their lives to gain even a comfortable economic stature.

People like Barbara Bush, who so eloquently demeaned and degraded the people of New Orleans, ignoring their plight and the loss of everything they've worked so hard to gain in their lives. It is only those people of inbred wealth and grandeur who dare to make such disgusting comments. That she and others of priviledged circumstance would feel any sort of empathy for those less fortunate than themselves is pure fraud.

It doesn't end with this one situation, however. No, indeed. Wealth is merely a harbinger of greed, condescension, gossip and snobbishness.

It is particularly offensive when those involved in charity would have no concept of basic percipience, perspicacity nor compassion.

I leave you with these:


Wealth is in the richness of the mind and heart, not the pocket -Anay Bathia

I have found that money can only buy you a better brand of misery -Carl R Franklin, Houston, Texas

Wealth is a power usurped by the few to compel the many to labor for their benefit. -Percy Bysshe Shelley

The hopes of the Republic cannot forever tolerate either undeserved poverty or self-serving wealth. -Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The people came to realize that wealth is not the fruit of labor but the result of organized protected robbery. -Frantz Fanon

Many people have ideas on how others should change; few people have ideas on how they should change. - Leo Tolstoy

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself" -Leo Tolstoy

I know now that people only seem to live when they care only for themselves; but it is by love of others that they really live. -Leo Tolstoy

"The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles" -Mahatma Gandhi

"Each of us will one day be judged by our standard of life -- not by our standard of living; by our measure of giving -- not by our measure of wealth; by our simple goodness -- not by our seeming greatness." - William Arthur Ward

"Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted." -Unknown

"He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature." -Socrates

"There is...an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents.... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provisions should be made to prevent its ascendancy." - Thomas Jefferson

"Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant." - Epictetus

"If I feel depressed I will sing. If I feel sad I will laugh. If I feel ill I will double my labor. If I feel fear I will plunge ahead. If I feel inferior I will wear new garments. If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice. If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come. If I feel incompetent I will think of past success. If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals. Today I will be the master of my emotions." - Og Mandino (American Essayist and Phychologist, 1923-1996)


And finally:


"I'd like to see them spend the week
living life out on the street
I don't think they would survive

But they could spend a day or two
walking in someone else's shoes
I think they'd stumble and they'd fall" -Good Charlotte


"Eat the Rich" -Aerosmith

Completely and utterly disgusted.

As if the horrors of the hurricane, the flooding and the belated response of their own government was not enough! Visit this blog and pass this post on. This bullshit treatment from officials in our so-called "land of the free" has to stop. Simply pathetic.

The state of the government addressed

I find it interesting that FEMA's Michael Brown has been relieved of his duties with relation to the hurricane situation. He was rather stupid in his claims that he had no idea there were people in the New Orleans Convention Center until this past Friday - five full days after the disaster. However, the term "scapegoat" comes to mind, as well... Anyone who thinks the late response is due to one person's negligence alone is completely and sorely ignorant of the realities involved here.

Interesting, too, is that the government - both on a local and national level - has such a problem with the media reporting the realities of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I can understand the need for sensitivity to those who might not yet know that they've lost relatives in this mess, but does that excuse reports that a police officer "raised the muzzle of her weapon and aimed it at members of the media . . . Obvious members of the media . . . Armed only with notepads."?

It seems that the all-around tension of the situation is causing everyone to take things entirely too far. So far, in fact, that CNN has filed a lawsuit asking for a restraining order against local government officials, in order that the news organization be allowed to continue to photograph the depth of the devastation, including the sheer number of bodies. I learned this within the last twenty minutes while watching CNN, but have yet to find a link to the story on their website, or any other. I will post the link as soon as I find it. UPDATE: A related article may be found here.

Why something like this could happen in our United States is a question being asked often. It's simply incomprehensible. Then, too, we find stories about the Red Cross being kept from performing their own immediate relief efforts

One can only assume our government's humiliation at their own delayed reactions to the disaster itself, and is embarrassed at their lacking response.

Whether the question is one of race or not, being "treated like animals" is something the poor are unfortunately used to from any level of government - and more often than not, from society as a whole.

Handmade Hugs

There is a project out there I found through Soldiers' Angels called Quilters Comfort America. Here's the basic idea (from the site):

Like so many other people, we want to help. Knowing
quilters, we think you want to help, too, because there are no
more generous, giving, open-hearted people than quilters.

Therefore, we are launching a two-part drive for Hurricane Katrina
relief, and we urge you to join us in this project. We're calling
it QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA.

PART 1: Urgent Donations to the American Red Cross Disaster
Relief Fund.
We will match EVERY donation made by quilters to the American Red
Cross, up to a maximum of $10,000, on a dollar for dollar basis.
...
Part 2 of QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA is the collection of quilts of
all kinds to be distributed to the refugees here in Houston so
that they have something soft to sleep on instead of the hard
concrete floors of the temporary shelters and something warm to
cover up with against the chill of otherwise welcome
air-conditioning (we've been in the 90s and 100s for weeks now).
...
To participate in QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA, send an email to
exec5@quilts.com (subject line: COMFORT AMERICA) to let us know
how many quilts you are sending. That will help us help the Red
Cross in its planning. Please do not expect a confirmation that
your quilt has been received or any kind of nice thank-you.
Sometimes we just have to do things because they are the RIGHT
things to do--this is one of those times. People need help...the
kind of help WE can give.

Use this address to send your quilt/s:
COMFORT AMERICA PROJECT
c/o International Festival
7660 Woodway, Suite 550
Houston, TX 77063
Please note: for security, do NOT use the word 'quilt' ANYWHERE
in your address label!
...
Time is critical--the need is NOW! People are arriving by the
hour, children are bedding down on the cold concrete, bedding is
needed by people of all ages who have lost everything in this
horrible storm. Please help if you can. If you live in or around
Houston, you are welcome to hand deliver your donations to us.
Our address is 7660 Woodway, Suite 550, Houston 77063. You can
find it on Mapquest. Please note that this is one block of Woodway
that runs perpendicular to all the rest of Woodway.

Thanks to everyone!

QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA
Karey Patterson Bresenhan
Director, International Quilt Festival--Houston and Chicago

I love this idea, but I'd also like to take it a step further. There is a lot of talent out there in the blogosphere, and I'd like to challenge you all to channel whatever talents you have toward our countries displaces hurricane survivors.

Think about it:

- Photographers send a special photo to brighten a survivor's new space.

- Doilies are crocheted to replace someone's special heirloom from Grandma, which was lost forever.

- Samplers are cross-stitched with love into a special prayer pillow a child holds at night.

- Paintings decorate new, barren walls with scenes of peace and love.

- A handmade and specially-written story replaces a child's favorite storybook.

- A ceramic vase fills an empty space on a new and unfamiliar kitchen counter.

- A handmade teddy or other stuffed animal holds a traumatized child's tears and comforts him when he's missing everything familiar to him.

- A specially handcrafted piece of jewelry is worn by a woman to remind her that she's still loved, though everything she knows has been stripped from her.

- A homemade photo album contains the few, tattered pictures saved from the rubble of a family's former home - and maybe a few new ones of their heroes.

I challenge you to help restore some love and sanity into the lives of some people who really need to know they are thought of as human; I challenge you to offer hope.

Sea-washed, sunset gates

The New Colossus

A poem by Emma Lazarus,
graven on a tablet
within the pedestal on which
the Statue of Liberty
stands

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!"” cries she
With silent lips. "“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Our country has a history of serving others where it is needed. A history of rushing to the aid of those struggling and in need of rescue.

But our dear country has a terrible legacy of overlooking those who need it the most: Those within its very walls.

The tired.
The poor.
The huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
The wretched refuse of our teeming shore.
The homeless.
The tempest-tossed.

These are the ones who have been overlooked. These are the ones within the confines of the hell that is what New Orleans has become.

But it has not just started here.

These are the ones who have been overlooked and forgotten for generations. The very sense of compassion and acceptance and freedom our country was founded on has been somehow lost along the way.

The tired are ridiculed and cajoled into working themselves beyond the means their bodies will allow. The mothers working several jobs with little time to spend raising their children or even to rest.

The poor are made to feel worthless, ungrateful, unworthy and expendable - so many never have the opportunity to crawl their way out of the poverty their families have known for generations. And the ones who do become the tired.

The huddled masses wait, desperately praying for someone to come to their aid. So often that wait is just too long.

The wretched refuse? This was meant to mean those who came from impoverished or suppressed countries, and who came here to search for a better life. Some are given much, but so many still live under conditions they sought to escape from in their homelands.

The homeless are ignored and passed by on the street with little more than an annoyed glance in their general direction.

And the tempest-tossed wait - starving, in pain, terrified, dying - for beaurocrats to wade through their oceans of red tape, and praying their invalid relatives and helpless children survive long enough to receive the aid that's promised them.

And then we call them ungrateful.

To have loved and lost

From WWLTV New Orleans:

8:47 P.M. - (AP) The last bedraggled refugees were rescued from the Superdome on Saturday and the convention center was all but cleared, leaving the heart of New Orleans to the dead and dying, the elderly and frail stranded too many days without food, water or medical care.

No one knows how many were killed by Hurricane Katrina's floods and how many more succumbed waiting to be rescued. But the bodies are everywhere: hidden in attics, floating among the ruined city, crumpled on wheelchairs, abandoned on highways.

"Do you know what it means to lose New Orleans?" by Ann Rice

Update on my Dad in South East Louisiana

Anyone who is in or near Louisiana, can you tell me anything at all
about Hammond?

I have not spoken to my Dad since Sunday morning. The last I heard
before phones stopped working again was that Dad was ok, but that came
from a neighbor.

Putting it all in perspective

I want to ask you to please go and visit The Marvelous Garden. We need more stories like this one right now.

Louisiana updates

Updates as they come in on Katrina

12:58 PM CDT on Saturday, September 3, 2005

Tom Planchet

12:55 P.M. - WWL-TV: City Councilman Oliver Thomas is livid that evacuees are being taken out of the state capital to shelters in other states because, according to him, the city is scared of New Orleans residents.

Thomas said Governor Blanco has done the best she could do, but said she has to tell people around the state that N.O. residents are not thugs and looters, and to accept them in their community. "They got a lot of good people in New Orleans," Thomas said.

Said he was at the scene of the alleged "riot" at the Centroplex, but that it was blown out of proportion.

Thomas said that only a few people are committing acts of criminal looting, and are not in the majority.

If you need help finding places to donate NON-monetary items:

Please join the Yahoo group above, I have many, many links listed.

If you prefer not to join, please email me privately and tell me your general location. I will do my best to help you scour the internet and I will also make phone calls if I have to in order to track down drop-off locations for your donations.

My personal email is chanemza [at] gmail.com

ATTENTION: Wisconsin and Michigan UP

From a local Wisconsin station, "NBC 26":

What can you do to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina?

NBC26 & Hall Development in partnership with Executive Office Interiors, Gerondale's and Century 21

Help us fill our truck to help the Hurricane Katrina victims along the Gulf Coast.

• Check-In: NBC26 Lobby before going to truck.
  • 1391 North Road, Green Bay, Wisconsin
• Hours of Operation: 8:30AM to 7:00PM
  • Saturday, Sunday, and Labor Day: 9AM-Noon
  • Go directly to truck from 5PM to 7PM

Non-perishable items only. Especially bottled water, diapers, toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes, sunscreen, bars of soap, PediaLyte, diaper rash cream, formula, and deodorant.

NO MONETARY DONATIONS PLEASE!

Gerondale's

2605 S Oneida St., Green Bay

Hours: Fri: 9am-7pm -- Sat: 9am-6pm -- Sun: 11am-3pm

Century 21 Great American

303 S Bluemound Dr, Appleton

Hours: 7am-8pm

Donations will be accepted until Wednesday, Sept. 7th at Noon, or until all semi trailers are full.

United Way

To donate through United Way go to their website at: www.browncountyunitedway.org and click on the link: "Hurricane Katrina Response Fund".

Catholic Charities

To donate through Catholic Charities call: 1-800-919-9338

Salvation Army

To donate through Salvation Army call: 920-497-7053
Monetary donations only.
To donate by check: Make check out to: Salvation Army “Hurricane Katrina”

American Red Cross

To Contact American Red Cross to make a donation:
Monetary donations only. No in-kind donations.
Call: 1-800-435-7669
(1-800 HELPNOW)
Website: www.redcross.org

FEMA

Website: www.fema.gov

THIS is humanitarianism

From TTLB:

Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Weekend
Thursday, September 1 - Monday, September 5
A weekend of blogging focused on raising awareness of and funds for relief efforts to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina. See here for more information.

Update 9/2: See here for important announcements about extending the drive through the weekend, international blogbursts, corporate sponsorships, and more!

$ 509,651 in contributions so far
contributions detail
contributions by country
log your contribution

1,500 blogs participating
list of blogs
blog leader board
blogs by country
add your blog

171 charities recommended
list of charities
charity leader board
add a charity

I've had enough of the ignorance

Enough, people! Talk of people doing drugs as the water is rising around them. Not news reports, rumors around the web. Listen up, idiots: Where in the hell do you think these people are going to get drugs (or a dry freaking lighter) when they can't even find food or clean water? What is wrong with you people? Grow up.

I'm reading bullshit about how all these people CHOSE to stay. Where are your heads?? NOT all these people chose to stay, you morons! Many of these people are infants, children, elderly, ill or even pregnant. MOST of them are poor. Do any of you out there have ANY common sense??

Reports most of the refugees had no shoes when they were rescued. The LEAST of these people's woes are having no shoes, for heaven's sake. SHOES?!? NEWSFLASH: They have water up to their necks! What good are shoes?

Oh, and the looting. Yes, those awful, terrible criminals... Oh, please. Shut up! If you were trapped in an area surrounded by filthy, stinking water full of floating dead animals and the corpses of your neighbors in high humid temperatures, your children hadn't had food in two to four days, let alone a dry diaper (imagine the skin rashes of the infants - and the illnesses!) and everything you have ever owned in your life was gone forever and you had NO IDEA when help was coming because there is NO communication and NO phone service, you tell me: are you going to sit there on your pretty little behind and think, "Golly, I'm sure glad nobody's knocking over the Walmart down the block." HELL NO! That shit's getting plowed down as soon as the cleanup crews get in there.

Listen, dumbasses, I'm not condoning the teenaged hoodlums taking tv's and stereos. But what the hell is Walmart going to do? Wait for the waters to go down and have an "After Flood Sale"??? Get over it! Most of these people took FOOD, DIAPERS, NECESSITIES!

No, I do NOT agree with looting. But why the hell didn't the authorities go into those stores and HAND OUT the food and things people needed while they're sitting there trapped and dying? And why shouldn't they do all they can to feed their children? Don't you DARE tell me you would sit back and watch them cry in the throes of hunger pangs. You'd be LIARS.

And politics of it all? Shut the hell up! Get over the politics. People are dying! CHILDREN are DYING.

Say what you want, but my father is STILL down there and now ALL communication has been cut off to his area. I will NOT sit back and watch a bunch of pathetic couch potatoes judge those people with utterly ridiculous ideas. NONSENSE.

If you want to piss and moan about the way New Orleans is dealing with it, get YOUR ass down there and help, jerk.

People, this has got to be the absolute best darned speech out of any level government I have ever heard given on any freaking subject EVER.

Mayor of New Orleans Speech

I love this man. Nagin for President, people.

Sending non-cash donations

I spoke with Nancy Roth-Roffy of the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County in Texas earlier this afternoon. Her office in San Antonio is handling the tremendous influx of refugees coming from the disaster stricken areas in the afflicted tri-state region. Her office is taking on a massive effort, so donations need to be as organized as possible.

The problem with large amounts of material goods being donated is that the evacuees are living in very close quarters in mass numbers. There is very little individual storage space for each family, if any at all. Therefore, it would be more beneficial for the families in need for all potential donors of supplies and other physical donations to simply stockpile those donations until a central, long-term holding and sorting location can be organized.

At some point evacuees will be relocated to proper medium term (not quite long-term, but not as temporary as current locations) housing. At that time, material donations can be directed to each family in need, since storage areas will be more readily available. There simply isn't the room for it now.

Certain needs can be sent immediately, however. These needs include things like toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, diapers, baby wipes, infant formula, etc. Since these needs should be new and unopened, it only makes sense to send cash to an organization equipped to distribute large quantities of these items.

For more information, contact:

United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County
700 South Alamo
PO Box 898
San Antonio, Texas 78293-0898

Writing to Astrodome Evacuees

Anyone with friends or relatives who are currently stationed in the Houston Astrodome can get a letter out to them by writing the following on the front of their envelope:

(The name of the person you are trying to reach)

General Delivery

Houston Astrodome 77230

Bloggers are making a world of difference

To date, the Hurricane Katrina: Blog Relief Day effort has resulted in well over a quarter of a million dollars in contributions to various charities with over 1300 blogs participating from 20 countries. I am incredibly proud to be a part of such a community!

In addition, my group "KatrinaAid: Hurricane Katrina Aid & Support" has formed a partnership between Bo Ahlberg and myself. We will soon have our own domain, so stay tuned for details. The latest stats:

Activity within 7 days:

28 New Members

45 New Links

46 New Messages

2 New Databases

26 New Photos

6 New Files

Be sure and join us!

Also see:

Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Inc.
The governor of Louisiana has established this foundation to collect and distribute monetary donations to private and public entities for disaster relief for losses and/or damages brought on as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Donating through the Methodist Church

United Methodist Committee on Relief:


Top Ten List: UMCOR Sager Brown's Bulk Supplies Needs

UMCOR Kits are material resources that provide many essential supplies for everyday life. You can donate complete kits -- or you may prefer to give bulk supplies that volunteers will assemble at UMCOR Sager Brown, the place where your donations are stored while they await dispatch.

The material resources program is always happy to receive kits and buckets fully assembled with all required items. However, the UMCOR Sager Brown Depot can use large quantities of bulk items that may be easier for some churches and church groups to acquire. The top ten list of bulk material needs (listed in order of priority) is as follows:


1. Terry cloth hand towels (15" x 25" or 16" x 27", No kitchen towels)
2. Toothpaste (4.5 oz or larger, expiration date must be 6 months or longer in advance of the date of shipment to UMCOR Sager Brown)
3. Metal nail files or fingernail clippers (no emery boards, no toenail clippers)
4. Children's blunt scissors
5. Pencil sharpeners (plain, small, individual sharpeners with no emblems)
6. Baby sweaters (open in the front)
7. Cloth baby diapers (cloth only--no disposable diapers)
8. Ruled paper (pad, spiral, or loose leaf)
9. Baby gowns or sleepers
10. School Bags (finished size 14" x 16")

For 10 items donated, $1.00 is needed to help UMCOR Sager Brown with the costs of processing and shipping kits around the world.

Send to:

UMCOR Sager Brown
101 Sager Brown Road
Baldwin, LA 70514

----------

UMCOR Emergency Kits, such as school and health kits, provide essential supplies for everyday life. Preparing kits is a great hands-on volunteer project. Donate money, complete kits, or bulk supplies that volunteers will assemble at UMCOR's Sager Brown depot.


Bedding Pak

* 2 flat double-bed sheets
* 2 pillowcases
* 2 pillows

Value: $50 per pak.
In a separate envelope, please send a check written to UMCOR Sager Brown for at least $1 for each kit to help with the costs of processing and shipping kits around the world.

----------

Flood Bucket

These supplies enable people to begin the overwhelming job of cleaning up after a flood or hurricane. For flood buckets only, if the requested sized item is not available, go down to the next available size. If nothing is available in the requested or smaller size, put masking tape on the outside of the bucket saying, "This bucket contains no _________."

* 5-gallon bucket with resealable lid
* Bleach (two 1-quart or one 82 oz. bottle. Do not include bleach of you are shipping the bucket through the US Postal Service, UPS or FedEx)
* 5 scouring pads
* 7 Sponges
* 1 scrub brush
* 18 cleaning towels (reusable wipes)
* Liquid laundry detergent (two 25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle)
* 1 household cleaner, 12-16 oz. bottle
* Disinfectant dish soap, 16-28 oz. bottle
* 50 clothes pins
* Clothes line (two 50 ft. or one 100 ft.)
* 5 dust masks
* 2 pair latex gloves
* 1 pair work gloves
* 24-bag roll of heavy-duty trash bags, 33-45 gallon (remove roll from box before placing in bucket)
* 1 Insect repellant spray, 6-14 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps. See special requirements below.*)
* 1 Air freshener, 8 or 9 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps. See special requirements below.*)

*Special requirements: Put all items in the plastic bucket and seal lid. Please ensure that all cleansing agents are liquids (not powder) and in plastic bottles. All aerosols or flammables: If aerosols are included, do not send the bucket by US mail or DHL/Airborne freight. Ship by UPS ground, FedEx ground, or truck. Pack inside the bucket or strong outer boxes. Put the ORM-D mark on the outside of any buckets or boxes containing these items. Get it at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/print/kits/orm-d.cfm . Copy and tape on each
bucket or box. Boxes cannot exceed 66 lbs. each.

Value: $45 per bucket.
In a separate envelope, please send a check written to UMCOR Sager Brown for at least $1.50 for each flood bucket to help with the costs of processing and shipping.

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Health kits provide basic necessities to people who have been forced to leave their homes because of human conflict or natural disaster. Health kits are also used as learning tools in personal hygiene, literacy, nutrition and cooking classes. When people gain the knowledge and materials to maintain personal hygiene, their overall
health improves.

* 1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27", No kitchen towels)
* 1 washcloth
* 1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
* 1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
* 1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
* 1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, No child-size brushes)
* 1 large tube of toothpaste (expiration date must be 6 months or longer in advance of the date of shipment to UMCOR Sager Brown)
* 6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages

Place these items inside a sealed one-gallon plastic bag.

Value: $12 per kit.
In a separate envelope, please send a check written to UMCOR Sager Brown for at least $1.00 for each kit to help with the costs of processing and shipping kits around the world.

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Many women do not have swaddling clothes with which to welcome their child into the world. Layette kits provide basic supplies for their baby's needs.

* 6 cloth diapers
* 2 shirts or 2 one-piece body suits
* 2 baby washcloths
* 2 gowns or sleepers
* 2 diaper pins
* 1 sweater open in the front
* 2 receiving blankets

Bundle the items inside one of the receiving blankets and secure with the diaper pins.

Value: $35 per kit.
In a separate envelope, please send a check written to UMCOR Sager Brown for at least $1.00 for each kit to help with the costs of processing and shipping kits around the world.

----------

In some countries, children don't have books or school supplies. Many have no schoolrooms; classes are held in inadequate or half-destroyed buildings, tents, or even the open air. Often students must write down everything the teacher says or records on a board. Their teacher's knowledge and their own notes are their only textbooks. School kits may be these children's only educational resources. This UMCOR kit is designed for a variety of ages.

* 1 pair blunt scissors (rounded tip)
* 2 pads (or loose leaf) of 8 1/2" x 11" ruled paper
* 1 30-centimeter ruler
* 1 hand held pencil sharpener
* 6 unsharpened pencils with erasers
* 1 eraser, 2 1/2"
* 12 sheets construction paper (varied colors)
* 1 box of 24 crayons (only 24)

Prepare a 14" x 16" (finished size) cloth bag with handles and a closure (Velcro®, snap or button) and place items in the bag. Patterns are available from UMCOR Sager Brown or click here for a pattern that you can use.

Value: $11 per kit.
In a separate envelope, please send a check written to UMCOR Sager Brown for at least $1.00 for each kit to help with the costs of processing and shipping kits around the world.

----------

Sewing kits foster independence rather than dependence. Women can make clothing in their own size and in the style of their culture. Cottage industries often grow out of the sewing classes where women use these kits to practice valuable income-generating skills.

* 3 yards of cotton or cotton-blend, solid color or print fabric (must be 3 yards of uncut fabric)
* 1 pair sewing scissors
* 1 package of needles
* 1 spool of thread
* 5-8 matching buttons

Wrap sewing notions in the fabric and place in a sealed one-gallon plastic bag.

Value: $18 per kit.
In a separate envelope, please send a check written to UMCOR Sager Brown for at least $1.00 for each kit to help with the costs of processing and shipping kits around the world.

----------

To learn what the current needs are call 1-800-814-8765.

Send completed kits to:

UMCOR Sager Brown
101 Sager Brown Road
Baldwin, LA 70514

All emergency kits have been carefully planned to make them as usable as possible in the greatest number of situations. Because of strict rules imposed by international communities regarding product entry into their countries, it is important that kits contain only the items requested and nothing more. Do not include any personal notes, money or additional materials. These things must be painstakingly removed and will impede the progress of the shipment. Please note that all items included in kits must be NEW!

Kits should be packed in boxes with only one type of kit in each box. The contents should be clearly written on the outside or inside of the box. Please complete two packing lists: one for your own records and one to put outside the box with the shipping label. Paste the shipping label/packing list on the outside of each box you send to UMCOR Sager Brown. Thank you for including the shipping list; it expedites the depot's work.


Please send please send a check written to UMCOR Sager Brown for at least $1 for each kit for processing and shipping costs. This support is vital because it enables material resources to be sent without delay to areas in need. You may send the money for shipping directly to UMCOR Sager Brown at the address above.

----------

You may also give to UMCOR's Material Resource Ministry, Advance
#901440 Gifts may be made by placing a contribution in the offering
plate at a local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR,
475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115; or by calling
1-800-554-8583, where credit card donations are accepted. Be sure to
write Material Resource Ministry, Advance #901440 on the memo line of
your check.

----------

Note: Many people send kits to Sager Brown Depot and designate them
for a specific emergency or disaster site. While UMCOR will make every
effort to accommodate these designations, the depot's staff reserve
the right to redirect kits to the area where they are most needed.


Hurricane relief response by UMCOR

Houston Astrodome Donations

To those wishing to send any non-cash donations to any of the Huuricane Katrina refugees, I will be as much gathering information as I can.

I just spoke with the Houston, TX Chamber of Commerce:

They are now accepting donations of non-cash, material needs at the Astrodome:

Houston Astrodome Complex
8400 Kirby
McNee Gate
Houston, TX 77054

I will be calling other areas, stay tuned!

Help needed, please!

I am running the group "KatrinaAid" and we have some members without the monetary means, but who would still love to donate. However, it is difficult to find organizations accepting anything but cash.

If you know of any charity accepting material goods, please join the group and let us know or email me ASAP!

TTLB Update!

Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day
Thursday, September 1
A day of blogging focused on raising awareness of and funds for relief efforts to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina. See here for more information, and here for the TTLB Katrina topic page.

$ 148,403 in contributions so far
contributions detail
log your contribution

1,200 blogs participating
list of blogs
blog leader board
add your blog

127 charities recommended
list of charities
charity leader board
add a charity

Subscribe to KatrinaAid

KatrinaAid · Hurricane Katrina Aid & Support

Activity within 7 days:

25 New Members
41 New Links
31 New Messages
2 New Databases
5 New Photos
6 New Files

The purpose of this group is to provide information and updates on the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, and to offer a place where those who can offer relief can be matched up with those who need it.

We will be looking for needed supplies donations, offers of assistance or shelter, messages and resources for locating family members. Please join and post your offers and ideas for helping or sources for more information.

Please keep in mind this forum NON-POLITICAL. This should remain a place of REFUGE & SUPPORT. We want to offer help and support to those who need it so desperately right now and nothing should remove our focus on that effort.

TTLB & Blog for Relief Day - UPDATE

Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day
Thursday, September 1
A day of blogging focused on raising awareness of and funds for relief efforts to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina. See here for more information, and here for the TTLB Katrina topic page.

$ 87,868 in contributions so far
contributions detail
log your contribution

1,113 blogs participating
list of blogs
blog leader board
add your blog

111 charities recommended
list of charities
charity leader board
add a charity

Fats Domino among the missing in New Orleans

Fats Domino aka Antoine Domino, 77, is missing. Domino apparently stayed at his New Orleans house home in the 9th ward, in a low-lying area with his wife, Rosemary, and their daughter.


His agent said he was last seen (by someone in the area) on his balcony. Mr.Domino's niece has posted a notice on craigslist.

UPDATE

4:22 P.M. - BATON ROUGE (AP): The Times-Picayune of New Orleans will resume printing a newspaper -- days after Hurricane Katrina forced it to abandon a printed edition. The newspaper has been available online. Officials hope to print 50-thousand copies, using the facility of The Houma Courier, a newspaper 60 miles southwest of New Orleans.

Updates on New Orleans

2:48 P.M. - Gov. Blanco: "Thousands" are believed to be dead. And between 200 and 300,000 people still need to be evacuated from the city. 2,400 people are still waiting to be evacuated from the Superdome.

One official said the Army Corps of Engineers are currently driving pilings, dumping sand, into the breaches in the levee. Concrete barriers will go up after the sand is laid down. They will assess the pumps, and it could take as long as one month before the water is completely drained from the city. The Army Corps is being escorted to the levees by State Police.

Blanco said 12,000 National Guard troops from various regions in the nation are being deployed to the area, bringing the total number of troops to 40,000. The Governor added that looters will be dealt with. Blanco said Baton Rouge has its own concerns with refugees, who have reportedly been causing similar trouble in the state capital.

Hospital evacuations are going well. Chalmette and Tulane Hospitals are emptied.

No casualty list reported yet.

3:06 P.M. - (AP): Fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. "This is a desperate SOS," the mayor said.

Anger mounted across the ruined city, with thousands of storm victims increasingly hungry, desperate and tired of waiting for buses to take them out.

"We are out here like pure animals. We don't have help," the Rev. Issac Clark, 68, said outside the New Orleans Convention Center, where corpses lay in the open and the and other evacuees complained that they were dropped off and given nothing -- no food, no water, no medicine.

There IS something you can do!

From TTLB:

The Salvation Army
1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769)

In this new century, The Salvation Army is serving more people in the USA than ever before. We are already seeing large increases in the number of Americans seeking the basic necessities of life – food, shelter, and warmth. More than 33 million people received help from The Salvation Army in 2004. The brief review listed below will quickly show the magnitude of the mission facing The Salvation Army in communities throughout the United States. The Salvation Army National Headquarters P.O. Box 269 Alexandria, VA 22313

106 blogs recommend this charity.

TTLB's Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day - UPDATE

Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day
Thursday, September 1

A day of blogging focused on raising awareness of and funds for relief efforts to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

$ 50,735 in contributions so far


1,018 blogs participating


103 charities recommended

SOS!

The mayor of New Orleans has now said that there are not enough busses to get people out of the convention center and have told people there to just start marching. There are no supplies or food left for them. There are children in these groups!

I have a friend who owns a corporate flying company and flight training school in Green Bay. I'm going to be calling him. Ask around. Who do you know? What can you do?

At the very least, everyone has a local Red Cross or Salvation Army chapter. Go through your closets and those 500 pairs of shoes you'll never wear. Thin out your cupboards. Even office supplies! These rescue organizations can use anything you have to offer.

Listen up!

I want you to get up out of that chair. Go on, because you no longer have a job. And that nice business-casual outfit you got full price got muddy water splashed on it, but too bad: It's all you have in the closet. Matter of fact, you don't even have a closet.

Look around you. Everything you see is no longer there. Hungry? Sorry, there's no food around for miles. Oh, and don't bother calling the police. There aren't any phones. The police officers are in the same postion as you are, anyway.

Think about it. What would you do? have you eaten in the last three days? because some people very near to you haven't. Not a bite. Lots of them haven't even had decent drinking water.

Get off your lazy screen-reading behinds and DO something!

Pleas for help

A friend of mine asked me to post this for her:

ON MySpace they are Kymmie and Jake



Please Help my friends, they lost their home in New Orleans and everything.

Help and and their 2 children.
They need everything. clothes, toys, toiletries, everything.

Please donate to the Moran family in their time of displacement! Natasha created a PayPal account for
displaced_nola @ yahoo.com - this email address will be handed over to Kim and Jake and the kids tomorrow, so that
they will have direct access to it. Even if it's $5...
please imagine yourself in their place...

Please spread the word to anyone that may know Kim, Jake and the kids or want to help a family that has lost their home to the hurricane and subsequent flooding in New Orleans. They really need your help right now.

Putting it in perspective

If you would like an up-close and personal view of what life is like in the hurricane-affected areas, you don't have to search far. There are many operational websites in these areas. Reading what they have to say will truly put all of this horror into perspective.

NOLA.com's blog, NOLA View, is listing stories of those desperately hoping to be rescued.

Don Hammock of Eyes On Katrina
in south Mississippi is offering the latest developing news from the area.

WWLTV channel 4 out of Louisiana has set up a to-the-minute update blog with news and information.

Also, another blog relief day has been proposed for tomorrow, September 2nd. Please see Andy Carvin's post on his Katrina Aftermath blog.

I'm still trying to round up volunteers or anyone searching for loved ones to my KatrinaAid group. The more people and resources we can bring together, the more help we can give. If you can offer even as little as a word of support or some clothes you no longer need; maybe you have a lot of canned goods and your cupboard could use a little thinning out; or maybe you're looking for loved ones and simply need a list of resources. Currently I have put together a list of over 30 links to available resources, and that number is growing. Let's stop making excuses and start making a difference. People need you.

The True Survivors

Today is a sort of "Blog-Aid" day. Some of us have gotten together with TTLB for "Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day". I encourage all of my readers to donate to the Salvation Army. Send them anything: clothes, food, basic toiletries, first aid supplies. If you have any medical training at all, such as first responder certification, please consider joining your local Red Cross chapter's volunteer division. There is a list of charities and contact information posted on TTLB, as well.


Latest news in is that FEMA has suspended rescue operations, as it has become too dangerous even for the rescuers to get into some parts of New Orleans. We need to get the ball rolling here and support the relief efforts as much as possible. More lives are being lost.

There are children right now unable to sleep comfortably in their own beds, without basic food or water, none of their favorite toys to keep them company. People are losing their ability to connect with reality. When you hear on CNN about people being in "survival mode", it means that people have become almost feral. They're surviving on instinct alone.

There is no running water. No toilets. People are dying of the conditions they are being forced to live in because those helping are simply spread too thin. Even the reporters are becoming traumatized and doing their best to help.

We need to put the political connotations aside and focus on pure humanitarianism. This could very well be your mother, father, brother, sister, child. Not all of these people refused to evacuate. Some of them were simply unable. And many of the evacuees themselves are in the horrible conditions of the Superdome awaiting further evacuation.

Do whatever you can to help, anything at all. Even if your resources are limited, you do have options.

Office of Emergency Services - Important Info!

State OES has learned that trapped victims on the Gulf Coast are calling
family, friends, loved-ones, or anyone they can get a call out to in
California asking for someone to rescue them. These requests need to go
immediately to the US Coast Guard's Rescue Line at 800-323-7233 and
immediate assistance will be sent.

Please distribute this information as widely as possible.

Thank you.

************************************************************
Eric Lamoureux
Chief, Office of Public Information
California Governor's Office of Emergency Services
Ph. 916-845-8400
Cell. 916-869-3367
Pgr. 916-845-8911
Fax. 916-845-8444
eric_lamoureux@oes.ca.gov