As many of you know I live in Texas, just north of the Houston area- and if you have been following the news you've probably heard about the wildfires ravaging our beautiful state right now.
{animals left defenseless against the oncoming flames}
{acres and acres of land scorched and still burning...}
{Plumes of smoke behind the Austin (our state capitol) skyline}
The thing about central and southeast Texas is that it is HEAVILY wooded. We've also been in an extreme drought for most of the year, so every time one of these fires sparks up it's like setting a match to a haystack, the whole thing goes up in a matter of seconds. For that reason, these fires are proving difficult to contain, and nearly impossible to squelch as they spread mercilessly throughout our state.
{photos from central Texas, Austin, Bastrop, Magnolia and Montgomery}
{that's SMOKE in the sky there folks, not clouds... way too close for comfort}
We have been fortunate so far, but many others have not. Unlike other recent disasters (Irene, flooding, earthquakes, etc.) for some reason, we are not getting any federal funding for this disaster. I'll leave the politics out of it, but let's just say our governor does not have a great relationship with the federal government. Unfortunately, it's our people who are suffering.
So in the true spirit of Texas' neighborly hospitality, we are throwing in together to help those who have lost everything get back on their feet. My husband and his crew is working 'round the clock locally to gather clothes, food, toys, shoes, air mattresses, towels, sheets and other "basics" for those who have lost everything. If you are interested in sending whatever you have, send me an email and I'll give your our mailing address.
I have also created a ChipIn account so those of you who would like to help financially can do so. Even $1 goes a long way to helping such a desperate situation. All proceeds will be donated to the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund based out of Austin, Texas. I will be putting the ChipIn widget up in the sidebar on the right for the foreseeable future, for easy access. It is completely secure, and is protected by Paypal policies and regulations.
3 comments:
I added the link to my blog post. Stay safe friend!
Thanks Brandy! :) We're doing our best... bags packed in case we have to run, lol.
Hi! I hope you are doing ok! I wish we had some extra $ to help out right now...but know that you've all been in our prayers here!
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