Kindness Is Contagious….Share Your Stories

We’ve delayed our planned stories so far this week so that we can focus on the Waldo Canyon Fire because we really feel that’s what’s important right now…helping to pass on information and letting you know how you can help. Monday we talked about the Humane Society and how they were helping the pets of evacuees and how in turn the community reached out to help the Humane Society….so much so that they no longer need supplies, but donations of money are still needed.

Monday I stopped off at Discover My Goodwill to drop off donations and to see how things were going there (they are taking donations also to help out with those in need at this time). I saw lots of people with vehicles full of items and as we all waited (didn’t take long because their staff there gets you unloaded very quickly), conversations were shared with all the positive ways our community has been responding and of prayers that the fires are put out as quickly as possible with as little damage as possible.

My next stop was at Safeway to stock up on non-perishable food items to take to Care and Share. Here’s a couple of new ways you can help out. Safeway is now accepting financial donations for the American Red Cross Waldo Canyon Fire Relief Effort and if you can’t get to the Care and Share location at 2605 Preamble to donate food, you can now drop it off at any local Walgreens store, during regular business hours…makes it very convenient to give.

Once I got to Care and Share, I was again amazed at our community’s generosity. Cars were lined up filled with donations and there were a lot of efficient and friendly volunteers unloading all the donations, and from what I saw, there were tons! With the fire at zero percent containment, who knows how long people will be kept from getting back to their homes so all these donations are very important. And again, everyone was concerned, hopeful, non-complaining, and just wanting to do what they could.

The fires have also caused dangerous air quality for the young, the elderly and those with breathing problems. A lot of our residents don’t have air conditioners and now shouldn’t open the windows because of the smoke. If you have a neighbor or friend who doesn’t have central air, even inviting them over for a couple of hours to cool down is a simple way of helping someone.

I’ve shared just a few examples over the past couple of days of how I’ve seen such an outpouring of kindness and good-will for our entire community and now we’d like to hear from you. I think that when kind deeds are shared, it actually spreads the desire for others to do something positive and it helps keep spirits uplifted. So if you have something to share as to what you’ve seen, what you’ve done, how your coping with difficulties you may be experiencing, or areas where you know where more help is needed,  please share with our readers. We’d love to hear from you.

And remember…we have seen how quickly these fires can start up and become dangerous so if you haven’t prepared for an emergency, now is a good time. It’s better to be prepared when you’re not in imminent danger.

Disaster Preparedness

The Red Cross suggests you have these items in a central location in case you need to grab and go:

• *Water- One gallon per person per day (3 day supply)
• *Food- Non-perishable, easy to prepare items (3 day supply)
• *Flashlight
• *Battery powered or hand crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
• *Extra Batteries
• *First Aid Kit
• *Medications (7 day supply) and medical items
• *Multipurpose tool
• *Sanitation and personal hygiene items
• *Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, deed/lease to home, birth certificates, insurance policies)
• *Cell phone with chargers
• *Family and emergency contact information
• *Extra cash
• *Emergency blanket
• *Map(s) of the area
• *Other essential items that could not be replaced if they were destroyed

 

Essential Disaster Contacts

Here again are numbers and information on how you can help or receive more information during this difficult time.

To sign up for emergency notifications (getting reverse 911 calls), you can go to http://www.elpasoteller911.org If you don’t have computer access, you can register your landline or cell phone by calling 719-955-0742 Monday-Friday from 8 to 5.

The Humane Society still needs monetary donations which you can make at http://www.hsppr.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=1015

To make monetary donations to our local Red Cross, you can go to http://www.redcross.org

And you can go to http://www.helpcoloradonow.org for more ways to help.

Goodwill is always taking donations, and now helping with the Waldo Fire, for more info go to http://www.discovermygoodwill.org I heard Mayor Steve Bach (on Monday afternoon) say that Goodwill still needs volunteers to help with all the donations coming in. So you can donate goods or even volunteer an hour (or more) here.

And you can donate money to http://www.unitedway.com

Here are the latest and most current phone numbers for Non-Emergency Information:

• Joint Information Center 719-629-7322
• Red Cross 719-632-3563
• Goodwill 719-867-1117
• United Way 719-955-1742

OUR FIREFIGHTERS ARE AWESOME!

You know, just standing outside for a few minutes while unloading my car at my various stops, I was overheated in seconds. I actually went home with a pounding headache from the heat and smoke and all I could think about was our brave firefighters and volunteers doing everything they could to help our city. I cannot even imagine how hot our firefighters are in this blazing heat as they battle the fires. THANK YOU to our brave firefighters!

And if you’d like to send a message of thanks or prayers to our firefighters, police officers, or volunteers, you can share them here and we’ll pass them on to the various organizations.

*As I write this on Monday, I’m listening to the news and hear that we have really gone on the offensive in the fire fighting today and that there has been some progress (5% containment)….Hopefully that will continue to grow and by this time tomorrow, there will be higher containment!

Again, we’d love to hear from you and pass on the positive and lift one another up in our community! You’re welcome to share any pictures too.