Flood Relief Efforts

[FinsUp]

Hey all,
As the waters recede, and hopefully the rains stop, it's time for our community to recover and rebuild from the damage that has been done. I know the members of this club always rally around to help each other when that help is needed. I think now is the time for us to rally around those who have suffered major losses from the floods. People need our help, and we can do more as a group than we could as individuals. Some of us can donate time and labor, some of us have special skills and abilities, and some are good at raising money for a good cause. Let's get organized on what we all could bring to the table on this, and contact the organizations who are handling the recovery efforts.

One of our sponsors has suggested that they have a big sale and donate a portion of the proceeds to recovery efforts.

I'm skilled at almost nothing, but I'm not afraid to throw on a pair of gloves and do some heavy lifting, cleaning, hauling out damaged items, etc. I'm also fairly decent in the kitchen, and could help feed folks that need it. My schedule is usually pretty open, so I can help out starting whenever, for however long, after the swap meet.

So I'm asking you now to think about what you might be able to help with, and speak up. What can you do? When can you do it? Does anyone have connections to the recovery efforts, or should I research that and find a point of contact so that we do the most good in the best way possible?

In short... who's with me?

 

[Smiley]

I'm totally in for whatever I can help with, time permitting. I'll bet I can get my wife and kid to help too. A few have said that going through red cross is the best way to help but I feel I can do more with my hands than I can with money. Let me know what we can do.

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[FinsUp]

Same here. The key is to plug into the recovery efforts that are being coordinated by Red Cross and/or others, so that we're not just blundering around ineffectively. Another option is for us to focus in on fellow reefers that have lost homes, or whose families have lost homes, and help in that way. Doing that, however, could cause hurt feelings by those that we didn't help, and that's not something I want to do. For that reason, I'm leaning toward talking to someone with Red Cross or Natl Guard (or whoever) and letting them direct our efforts. Right now, it's about helping where it is needed the most, in the most effective way possible.

 

[fishguy69]

+1

 

[newtoreef]

God I would love to give ppl a hand but I have been cleaning and fixing my own house for the last 3 days and Probly going to be at it for another week or so. Good luck with this guys really awsome of our community, hope all turns out well

 

[jahmic]

God I would love to give ppl a hand but I have been cleaning and fixing my own house for the last 3 days and Probly going to be at it for another week or so. Good luck with this guys really awsome of our community, hope all turns out well

Sorry to hear about your losses...hopefully things keep moving forward and you can get back to some normalcy soon.

I'm willing to donate time to help with the relief...let me know what you find out.

 

[lkoechle]

I can't really do much since I'm pregnant, but if anyone needs hot meals cooked, I can do that!

 

[High Plains Reefer]

I'm in too I can do some labor or car repairs for the cause

 

[mathewkofalk]

I have boys clothing one year to two t also infant girls stuf to around 6 months If any one know babies that need clothing let me know

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[FinsUp]

This is awesome you guys! I'm gonna find out who is coordinating the recovery effort, let them know that we've got folks ready to help with this stuff, and ask them what kind of help they're looking for. If I can finagle a point of contact on their side, that'd be great. I'm sure they're hip deep in stuff that needs done yesterday, and a hundred people asking the same questions we have, so I'll do my best to keep this thread updated. Just bear with me until we get this sorted out. It's going to be a long road in front of us until stuff is back to normal, so there will be plenty of opportunities for us to help out.

(newtoreef, sorry that your place got nailed. Best of luck with cleanup!)

 

[AllysonP]

I have a friend that lives in estes and will be coming down in the next week to pick up donations. if anyone would like to donate clothes and shoes from new born to elderly please let me know. you can drop them off at my house or i might be able to meet up with you. she is working her butt off to collect donations and has been doing wonders for the community up there. i am already going to meet up with her for my donations so i have no problem collecting and giving them to her so there church can start handing stuff out.

 

[FinsUp]

OK, y'all, I tried finding a national level coordinating agency for flood relief efforts, and failed.
However! I was able to find a large locally-grown group that's more focused on labor than money. A local man (a friend of a friend of mine) started organizing relief efforts, and created a Facebook group called 2013 Flood Service Crew: https://www.facebook.com/2013floodservicecrew
They've helped at about 50 houses so far, apparently, and they're doing great stuff. They post up regularly about where they need people to go, how many are needed, and what needs to be done. People that need help contact them with specific requests.
Like I said earlier, I'm slammed this week, but I will be making some time next week to help people rebuild and recover. As the dust settles on this catastrophe, it is sounding like people with no flood insurance are not going to get much relief. That means they need help more than ever.
Monetary donations are also needed, and both Red Cross and the Salvation Army have set up specific flood accounts for that.
Salvation Army flood relief efforts: http://blog.salvationarmyusa.org/20...-residents-after-severe-flooding-in-colorado/
Red Cross flood relief efforts: http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/Red-Cross-Responds-To-Colorado-Flooding
Links/instructions on how to send donations are provided in each link.

 

[jda123]

We have a family of 7 staying with us long term from Lyons - months? They are at the heart of the impact, talk with the National Guard and Army Corp of Engineers every few days and even with there severe devastation it has been very hard to help this town. Some of the local churches needed volunteers that have displaced people staying there. We are being told that money to the national organizations is the best right now. It might be weeks or months before the people with the worst situations can get back home, but that is when those particular people will need the help cleaning, repairing, etc... Some of the worst towns are under National Guard lock down. I hope that the freshness of wanting to help has not worn off by then.

I guess that my point is that some of the worst off people will need help months from now, so even if nobody can help today, that is OK... there will lots of opportunities.

 

[mathewkofalk]

There's a church in the Greeley area called Journey I believe. They are on 47th ave a couple blocks south of highway 34. They are accepting anything you can spare clothes, food, pet food, anf basically anything that people need on a daily bases.

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[FinsUp]

Yes, this will be a long term recovery. Some areas are locked down, and you can't even get to the town, let alone to the houses to do any cleanup. But let's do what we can now, and keep working away at it until the whole job is done. I think the key is to not burn out on helping right at the beginning, so that it stays fun and fulfilling and you want to keep doing it. Anything helps, however. If you 'like' the service crew page I posted, they do status updates that let you know how many people they need, where to go, and what to bring if you can.

Thanks for the 'where to donate clothing and daily use items' info, Matthew. I'm sure most churches are taking in those things, as well as the various salvation army, goodwill, and red cross donation centers.