Help A Louisiana Family, Hurricane Katrina Disaster Victims Still Struggling and Urgently Need Your Help.

As you do your Spring cleaning did you know you could help families that were wiped out by Hurricane Katrina?

Hello Friends,
My name is Christina and I am speaking with you today in hopes that you may be able to help me.

The scenes on TV of the Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita disasters were very disturbing to me as I am sure they were for you all. I felt unsure of how someone could help in this crisis and wasn't very confident that my donations to large, organized charities would make a real difference.

By way of a coincidental business transaction I shipped some merchandise to a customer in Slidell, Louisiana on August 30, 2005--the day the levees broke. Slidell is located on the north side of Lake Ponchitrain and the city sustained massive devastation from both wind and water. I stayed in touch with my customer, Cindy Douglas and learned what this amazing lady is doing for her neighbors. While having endured much damage to her own home, she has taken in 7 FAMILIES who had been completely wiped out. All of these families have teens and young children. These folks have lost EVERYTHING.

I asked Cindy--how can I help?! She advised me that these families would need every imaginable household item, clothing, furniture, personal item, etc. to try and rebuild their lives. For the past 7 months I have been sending them many gently used items from my home, such a school supplies, small appliances, clothing, kitchenware, utensils, pots, etc. This is just a drop in the bucket, so I've decided to turn to you for help.

If you are interested in assisting any of these families it would do some incredible good. The magnitude of the destruction is hard to fathom and these people are frightened that they will be forgotten. Government assistance is very slow in coming--because just too many people have been affected. Many families are still living in tents with an endless wait for FEMA trailers and other necessities to regain a normal life. Most help has been provided by church groups and friends such as yourselves.

If you have any gently used items in your home that are no longer needed or just collecting dust, would you consider mailing them to Cindy? Items most urgently needed are towels, curtains, sheets, bedding, tableware but anything you can spare will help someone. She is also working with the local church in the neighborhood distributing additional items through these channels. You can help a family directly or the whole city of Slidell if you wish. Real help for real people--it's wonderful feeling to know you CAN make a difference. It will only cost you some time and postage**.