May I second the vote for the Salvation Army as well? My husband has been on the board and we are most impressed with their dedication and getting the work done. Sharon -----Original Message----- From: Robert Angus [mailto:elizabethangus@verizon.net] Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 6:35 PM To: GAWILKIN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [GAWILKIN-L] Re: Fallout of Katrina & Genealogy Very helpful post. In addition to the Red Cross, my suggestion is the Salvation Army which is usually the first on the scene while the Red Cross is still holding press conferences. Several correspondents made the same comment that they had seen SA trucks in the downtown but, several days into the disaster, had yet to see a Red Cross truck. Not meant to be "snarky" just an additional place to designate where your donations should go. Thank you in Houston for all the generous work you have done with the refugee's. We have had some in the central Fl area but not to your extent. ----- Original Message ----- From: Leslie Antley To: GAWILKIN-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 6:30 PM Subject: Fallout of Katrina & Genealogy Dear Friends and Family: Thank you for your prayers, good wishes, donations and assistance to the Katrina victims here on the Gulf Coast. We in Houston have seen our population expand by the thousands EACH DAY this past week. The utter despair in the eyes of the evacuees as they settle into the many shelters and receive water, hot meals, clean clothing, shoes, air conditioning, and medical care is simply heartbreaking. Along with the well-publicized evacuations of the Super Dome and Convention Center, we have many victims who were able to flee NOLA in time, thinking they would be able to return in a few days and pick up the strands of their lives. Instead their lives are shattered again when they see the televised reports of what was once their neighborhoods, businesses, schools, and religious facilities. With no homes, jobs, and dwindling money (if any money), how will they survive? Tallowood Baptist, my home church, is hosting 30 families in our "North Campus", a strip center we purchased several years ago fronting I-10 on the west side of Houston. Our neighboring churches, synagoges and mosques are helping in Katrina's victims in similar fashion. Mom and I made a quick trip to a local King Dollar (all items are $1.00) to pick up personal care items and small toys, games, coloring books, crayons, etc. for the shelters. We found many other Houstonians filling their baskets to the brim to assist. At Costco (a large warehouse-type store) the scene was much the same but included many pickup trucks, vans and trailers with drivers willing to take donations down to the chaos of the Astrodome. We counted 12 cases (35 liter bottles/case) of water in one trailer! The needs of the evacuees here and throughout the Gulf Coast Region are great and will continue over the next several months. In addition to what you are doing now, please consider giving money to the various Red Cross organizations: American Red Cross - www.redcross.org British Red Cross - www.redcross.org.uk Canadian Red Cross - www.redcross.ca Australian Red Cross - www.redcross.au International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies - www.ifrc.org On a genealogical note: There is no news yet regarding the status of the libraries which house genealogical materials in the area. Many of these precious records may have been the only copies extant and are now lost to us forever. Few of us have not experienced the frustration of trying to get certain records only to find the courthouse had burned and the records were lost so... PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make copies of ALL your records TODAY! Scan your photos, marriage & death certificates, military papers, school records, deeds, etc. and burn them onto multiple CD's with a rich text file (.rtf) that lists the documents and where the originals were located. If you can afford to also send certified copies with the disks that would be greatly appreciated. If not, even regular photocopies of your documents will help. Then send the copies to various genealogical repositories and family members AROUND THE COUNTRY and ask that they file your information under the pertinent state's family files. It wouldn't hurt to send photocopies of your driver's license, social security card, insurance policies, medical records, etc. to a trusted family member who lives out-of-town also. Seal it with the words "TO BE OPENED IN EMERGENCY ONLY" on the outside. Leslie Antley in Heavenly (but humid!) Houston - ------------------------------- Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. ______________________________ ==== GAWILKIN Mailing List ==== *Check out the WILKINSON CO. *GAGENWEB* Page: http://www.rootsweb.com/~gawilkin/