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Red Cross Checks for Joplin

The mail man brought a bunch of envelopes today and I thank you so much!  Two things I need to tell you:

  • I will not acknowledge the checks online.  Some may not want their name posted on the blog and I don’t think that would be a good thing to do anyway . . if you want to know if your check arrived, please email me and I’ll let you know.  I don’t have all of your email addresses or I’d email you as they come in.
  • For those sending more than $25, your name will go into the pot once for each $25 you send.  If you send $100, your name goes into the pot 4 times.

I’ve added a tab at the top entitled “Help Joplin” so you can click on that to get my address and I’ll keep a running total on that post as to how much $$ has arrived.

Today, $175 arrived.  Even if that’s all that gets here, I’d be thrilled but I know there’s more coming.

One of Chad’s friends’ parents . . I’ve mentioned them here before and they’re wonderful people . . they have friends in Joplin with four small children and they lost everything.  The kids had been outside playing in the sprinkler and came in when the weather got bad, were eating snacks when they lost everything.  The four little children had on their bathing suits and were barefooted . . and that’s all they owned after the storm.  Becky told me that they had received quite a few clothing items but I had two almost new crockpots so I took one of those, along with a new toaster still in the box, to the shop of Chad’s friends’ parents.  She assured me they would be thrilled with anything!

Can you imagine losing everything?  Not even having dental floss or tooth paste!  Last night as I got out of the shower and was slathering on the Bath & Body Works body butter, I thought what it would be like to have no hand cream, no body butter . . that would be hard!  I went through my stash of products from Bath & Body Works and packed up a bag, along with tooth paste, shampoo and conditioner.  I keep lots of that stuff on hand and that’s just less I’ll have to move.  A young mom with four young children probably didn’t have a lot of luxuries for herself anyway so I hope the items make her smile . . and I’m betting smiles are real hard to come by for those folks right now.

Thanks again for everyone who is able to send a check to the Red Cross.  And for those who cannot, that’s fine . . just say a prayer for the folks in Joplin.  Our local news comes out of Joplin so we’re hearing a lot of good, as well as a lot of sad stories and I know every dime the Red Cross receives will be used to make someone’s circumstances a bit better.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Yes, 5 years ago, our house burned to the ground and all we had were our PJs ….it was 3:30 am…..and we didn’t even have time to throw on houseshoes or grab a sweater…..it was Dec. 9th so all of our Christmas gifts went up in flames too. (We felt blessed that we all got out unharmed – thanks to working smoke detectors.)

    Yes, it is a sad feeling to lose absolutely everything… and it is a WONDERFUL thing when people are so generous that they feel called to help.

  3. I am so reminded of New Orleans and Katrina. However you don’t hear so much of the looting going on.

    Losing everything is so awful. I can’t imagine. My check will be in the mail as well.

    glen

  4. I’m a Katrina person. Going back after was absolutely petrifying and I was one of the lucky ones who only had to deal with the wind damage. My prayers are with those in Joplin every day and a check is in the mail.

  6. You’re doing a wonderful thing, Judy. I have so much stuff, I can’t imagine being without everything. I often feel ashamed that I have way more than I’ll ever need. And, giving your quilts as a prize for donations. . . I nearly feel like my quilts are my children, but I manage to get so few done compared to you. Still, I know they are precious to you. Bless you for helping those in need.

  7. I just posted on my blog about your project, Judy, just in case there’s someone out there who hasn’t seen your blog – which I doubt! This weekend I’ll get the binding on a quilt, and look for others that I can send to you.

    Thank you for all that you do!

  8. Yes I’ll bet your postman will have a heavier load in the next several days–LOL! I’ve never experienced losing everything and can’t imagine it . . . I put my check in the mail today.

  9. You are right about what it feels like to lose everything. I had a house fire in 1984 and lost nearly everything. In the end we were able to salvage a few things with lots of scrubbing and cleaning. But I remember that first night realizing I didn’t have a purse, I didn’t have a toothbrush, clean underwear or a comb. That was when I broke down and cried. There was something about realizing I didn’t even have a comb that did me in.
    I was recalling all of those feelings Sunday night and Monday as the pictures starting rolling in. And I kept thinking how much worse a tornado is when everything is blown to bits or miles away. I spent months scrubbing some cherished dishes and went through 2 cases of Soft Scrub doing so. But at least I had those in the end.
    My heart breaks for the people of Joplin.

  10. I have happy memories of driving through Joplin every couple of years with my folks when I was a little kid. We used to take route 66 up to Chicago to see our grandparents and cousins. It breaks my heart to think of it the way it is now.

  11. Living in England Uk I do not have a USA cheque account, but have sent a little donation of some dollars I had left from a trip, hope they get to you OK, and the good work you are doing. I’m off to my blog to write about you..

  12. My check went in the mail yesterday. I hope you get to give a huge amount to the Red Cross and I am thrilled that it will stay right there to help.

  13. Judy, you are such a warm, caring, generous person. I am so proud to call you my friend.

    Bush, LA experienced a tornado this week and several homes were totally lost but only a few people were injured and no fatalities than goodness. Bush is about 45 miles from us and is a tiny community north of Covington.

  15. I have missed something completely. When and where do we send checks for Joplin? My home state is N.C. and it was hit pretty hard, but this is even worse. What a spring!

  16. Judy, Thanks so much for spearheading this drive. I dropped a check in the mail for you yesterday. It should get there soon. I’ve led a fortunate life and have never gone through a total loss as these people have. I wish I could do more.

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