Filed under: Uncategorized
This is the letter composed before Christmas 2005. The sentiments still stand. New Orleanians are suffering pretty much as much now as in November.
H 3
Dear Friends-
>
> As many of you are aware, I’ve just come home from
> 16 days volunteering in
> New Orleans, Lousiana (N.O.L.A.). with SAHMSA
> (Substance Abuse and Mental
> Health Admin. of Health & Human Svcs.)
> I spent almost all my time there, including
> Thanksgiving Day, with the New
> Orleans police and their families (and a few firemen
> and EMT’s).
>
> These officers literally saved the lives of seniors
> and families,
> despite losing their own homes and all their
> belongings.
> I met scores of cops who literally lost all their
> uniforms, clothes, family
> photos, to say the least of entire homes.
> I can tell you tales of infants and seniors being
> saved and kept alive for
> days by the brave men and women I met.
> Many spent Thanksgiving on the job, desperately
> missing their families who
> are now spread into multiple states.
> The N.O.P.D. has suffered two Post-Katrina suicides,
> and many individal
> officers told me they felt slandered and hurt by how
> badly the media has
> mis-portrayed them.
>
> If you are interested in the current situation
> there, please let me know and
> I’d be happy to forward you my online photo album.
>
> I was deeply affected by the sheer scope of the
> city’s devastation,
> and very moved by the countless Heroes and Heroines
> I had the privilege to
> meet.
>
> What angered and worried me most was that despite
> record amount of $ donated
> to Katrina relief,
> I did not meet a SINGLE person who knew where that
> money was going, or had
> benefited from it.
> As Winter set in, many of the officers did not even
> have the cash to buy
> themselves a new uniform jacket ($65 for light
> jacket, $80 raincoat
> $250-$400 for leather police coat).
> If any of you would be interested in "Adopting a
> cop" I have taken the
> personal name & family info from many of the
> officers I met.
>
> I am not an official charity of course, but I simply
> wanted to send small
> things directly to officers and their families - NO
> middlemen!
>
> I would suggest while you are doing your holiday
> shopping -
> please throw in a little something for a N.O. police
> officer in need.
> Even a simple $5-10 gift card would be a wonderful
> gesture to let them know
> that someone cares and has not forgotten about New
> Orleans.
> I have people on my list aged 18 months to 83 years!
>
> I would be glad to give you info and you could mail
> it directly to an
> officer, or if you pass it to me I would be happy to
> send it for you or
> anonymously with other gifts.
> (and any friends who are so kind as to always grace
> me with gifts - this
> year I truly desire nothing at all save to give back
> to N.O.P.D.)
>
> Stores with branches in/near New Orleans:
> Walgreens (for basic supplies/medicine which many
> have lost)
> Lowe’s (many of them are rebuilding their gutted
> homes)
> ACE Hardware
> Home Depot
> Target
> Starbucks
> Borders Books
> GAP
> Whole Foods
> Foot Locker and Lady Foot Locker
>
> Most of All- even if you can’t spare any funds;
> Let us COUNT OUR BLESSINGS, and send a warm thought
> or prayer to New
> Orleans!
>
>
> -H 3
>
No Comments so far
Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
