Outdoor FunWeather History

Katrina Blog: How People Like You & Me Can Help

To all of our readers and their friends & families who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina:

While a site called The Fun Times Guide may not seem like an obvious place to extend a hand to the survivors dealing with Katrina’s brutal aftermath… it’s the best we’ve got.

Living in Franklin, Tennessee, with no friends or relatives in the affected areas (to our knowledge), our only tie to this powerful Hurricane was hearing on the news that the local schools had been canceled due to Katrina — all the way over here in Nashville!

Trees damaged from Hurricane Katrina's strong winds in Franklin, Tennessee. What seemed silly at the time, now makes perfect sense. This was a VERY powerful storm, and the flooding and wind damage we experienced here, hundreds of miles away, simply pale in comparison to what the people of New Orleans and Biloxi are living through right now.

For what it’s worth, please know that you are in our hearts and prayers. Your strength to keep on keepin’ on is what motivates us.


Using “Positive News” To Create Change
Jim and I put our heads together last night to think of some way that we could put our strength (blogging) toward making a difference — regardless of how small.

Ultimately, we agreed that our aim is to help bring about something “good” from all this devastation and remain “positive”.

What we came up with is this:

Let’s share the stories of individuals from around the world who are doing small things that will make a big difference toward the speedy relief efforts!

How YOU Can Help Make A Difference
— > Share a photograph that shows you or your family doing something that’s POSITIVE and DIRECTLY RELATED to the ongoing relief efforts. It’s that easy!

It may be something as simple as your family purchasing some canned goods at the local grocery store… or a photo of the back of your SUV filled with a couple cases of bottled water to donate to the Hurricane victims… or a picture of the check you sent to the Red Cross (with key numbers blocked out, of course).

The best part?… For every photo uploaded* in response to this post, WE will donate $1 to the American Red Cross. (Watch for an update on this page after September 18th revealing the total amount donated.)

All photos received by September 18th will appear here: Photos of People Helping Hurricane Victims.

NOTE:

  • *Only one (1) photo per household.
  • All photos must be received no later than 11:59pm Sunday, September 18th.
  • Any photo may be removed (by you or by us) at any time for any reason.
  • Use this form to submit your photograph. (expired)
  • Don’t worry about sizes, we’ll resize to fit properly.
  • Be sure to include a brief description of what’s going on in the photo.

…Thanks for doing something POSITIVE in support of the Hurricane victims. Together, we CAN make a difference!

— > Simply by taking the time to share your photo with others here at TheFunTimesGuide, another $1 will be sent to the Red Cross.

UPDATE: Taylor’s story has prompted us to extend our offer to donate $1 for every photo submitted to The Fun Times Guide showing everyday people helping Katrina victims. The new deadline to submit photos is September 30, 2005.

—> Here’s the form to submit your own photo.

—> Here are the photos we’ve received of everyday people helping.