Official TGO 2010 Flood Relief Effort

[TGO Sandy]

Fellow TGO Members,

How many of you have had personal damage or close friends/family that have had damage from the floods? I have started hearing so many stories of people who lost everything and had no flood insurance.

If there is enough interest on the forum, I would like to volunteer to organize collection and distribution of funds and/or supplies that are given to help as many people in our community as possible.

Based on the response to the Christmas donations thread it is clear that we have the ability to help people and I would like to see that happen in this time of need.

The greatest motivator to give is personal stories so I'd like to share the story of the person that I would like to help:

I work in a small doctor's office downtown and one of my co-workers found themselves quickly being surrounded by rising flood waters. She is currently at home on maternity leave. Her daughter was born April 5th.

By the time they got outside they realized that the roads were too far submerged to be able to get out. The water climbed to the point that their vehicles were submerged and soon the water was coming into the house. They called for help and a few hours later rescue crews arrived at their house by boat.

They were instructed to grab what they could carry, which in their case was the baby and a well stuffed diaper bag, and get into the boat. When she realized that they intended to leave her dog in the single story house in which the water had already reached her knees she burst into tears.

The rescue worker relented and her, the baby, her boyfriend and their lab climbed into the boat.

They were dropped off on dry land and the boat left for another house. Her boyfriend was able to get a hold of a co-worker who came and got them and took them to his house where they have been staying. She has no family in Tennessee.

They rented the house and had renters insurance. Flood insurance is for homeowners right?....apparently not. She was told on Monday that her renters insurance would not cover anything that was damaged by flood water.

Luckily their car insurance will still cover their vehicles but otherwise they are starting from scratch. Their landlord offered them another property he owns and they went today to try and buy a mattress so they could have somewhere to sleep.

She was a new mom trying to get three hours of sleep at a time and now they are all three sleeping on a mattress on the floor and feeding their dog out of a borrowed bowl.

[TGO David]

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Firstly, you do not have to use TGO as a means to assist those in need. The American Red Cross has a system whereby you can text "REDCROSS" to 90999 and make a $10.00 donation.

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE...

If you are a TGO member and either you or your family or friends need assistance, you may post in this thread with a brief summary of what sort of basic human help would be most beneficial. If the need is for clothes, household goods, food, shelter, and so-forth, post that.

If you desire privacy, you may PM the request to Mrs. Tungsten (my wife) and she will coordinate.

IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE...

Post or PM what sort of assistance you are willing to provide. Be sure to indicate what your limit(s) are in respect to the number of items, amount of food, etc. We do not want to overburden anyone.

If you want to contribute financially for the purchase of grocery gift cards (i.e. Kroger, Wal-mart) then by all means you may do so. Contact us for information on how this can be arranged.

Thanks!

[TripleDigitRide]

I've been volunteering my time in the Hendersonville area, but if anyone is in need of a truck driver, I will be more than happy to volunteer my services. I have a Class-A CDL with Haz-Mat endorsement.

I am able to help Fridays through Sundays, with the exception of today, Friday, May 7, 2010.

Edited May 7, 2010 by TripleDigitRide