Join "The Gathering Project" San Diego Area Chapter
You'll get invited to our Meetups as soon as they're scheduled!
"The Gathering Project" San Diego Area Chapter Message Board › calling Gathering members to join with Back On Track to help children displa
calling Gathering members to join with Back On Track to help children displaced by CA wildfires
| A former member | |
|
|
Fellow Gathering Members ~ The recent CA wildfires have left many families homeless and untold children without the basic necessities of childhood. Years ago, after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans I founded a non-profit which delivered care packs directly to the hands of children displaced by the tragedy. Back on track care Packs was an international group, which managed to by-pass all red tape and bureaucracy. We were in one-to-one contact with folks on the front lines. My young son & I traveled to Portland to help deliver a shipment of care packs to a church that had gone above and beyond by taking in and housing many families. This past week, I found myself scrambling to catch what would indeed be the last Amtrak train out, or into, San Diego County with my 4 1/2-year-old son. We were able to stay with my grandparents in Los Angeles until Thursday when trains were once again returning to SD County. I began BoT out of empathy for what evacuee parents & children of Katrina must be going thru. Even though, I had family to be with I was still in those shoes. We had to deal with having only 2 changes of clothes with us, no toys to occupy my son, no food for his dietary needs. We were unable to keep in constant contact with my husband who stayed behind or my teen daughter who was holed up with friends. It was beyond nerve-wracking to not be able to do anything but wait & watch national news for updates. Now I am back home and grateful that our neighborhood is intact and most everyone we know has reported back to me that they are safe and have lost nothing. Word began to get to me of families my friends know of who did however lose everything. I was thankful to be able to quickly re-activate the BoT group. Already I have a Waldorf school in VA poised to assist. BoT was fortunate before to work with the Idaho State lottery, 7th Generation and numerous small companies after Katrina. I am hoping we can do much more for the children of CA as I have a much larger Internet networks of folks to contact and ask for help. Also, being in CA will allow me to be much more personally involved and to continue to ensure that BoT works directly with folks in need and not thru any outside organization such as the Red Cross or FEMA. We were able to make HUGE impact by going around their red tape last time. My plans for BoT in San Diego involve special events at parks where families who lost everything can come and "shop" thru the donated items from BoT members. The relocated children in Portland were able to have a Christmas with new toys provided by BoT members thru a special Discovery Toys "party". Their company provided us with free shipping to the church which was hosting them. I hope to be able to work out a deal with them again and host multiple parties where BoT members can purchase new toys for the children of San Diego & the rest of CA affected by these fires. New to this year, we will also be teaming up with Pampered Chef to provide families with new kitchen tools such as pots and pans. I know this sounds very far-reaching and involved. If everyone I now know do even a fraction of what the original BoT member did we CAN and WILL be able to make a difference this year. Please go to Back On Track Care Packs and join our ranks. Everything you read is still up from Katrina. I will be revising things for the CA wildfires this week. There will be new flyers you can print to distribute. There will be new guidelines. There will be new fundraisers being planned & scheduled. Money as well as goods is required to help BoT reach out to as many children as possible. Any funds raised will be used to purchase toys and new items such as shoes and underwear. There will be a new area for you to list basic info on any family you know of personally who needs our assistance. We did our best last time to match up donations to real children - sizes, gender etc. We will do our bets again to do this. Please be patient as I regroup and make a solid game plan. Thank you in advance for being part of making a real impact on these children's futures. ~Kia~ Edited by User 3,969,717 on Oct 27, 2007 9:14 AM |
| A former member | |
|
|
PLEASE copy and forward this message to EVERYONE in your persoanl address books. Get the word out.
|
Powered by mvnForum
Our Sponsors
We're looking for Sponsors!
Support a Meetup group while getting exposure to active, local members.
