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Today, in the middle of December,
tens of thousands of people are huddling in tent
cities or trailers or cars in the Gulf Coast of
this country. In Mississippi on August 29th,
65,000 buildings were destroyed and 65,000 were
damaged; in one of the counties every single car
was destroyed. During the summer, the residents of
this area were working and taking care of their
families and today most of them are cold and
broke.
The people of Mississippi are a proud people. For
the last 3 years in a row, although they have the
lowest per capita income in the country, they have
donated the highest percent of their income to
charitable giving and they don't ask for handouts
easily.
We were told about this by Steve Richer, Executive
director of Mississippi's Gulf Coast Convention
and Visitors Bureau. He has transformed the nature
of his work over the last 3½ months and has been
totally immersed in getting help for the people of
his state. Steve called because he heard that Lion
Brand was looking for a location where our readers
could send donations to help keep those who lost
their homes in Hurricane Katrina warm in this cold
weather. As we spoke he was driving in his car
through police barricades near the beach. "It
is hard to imagine the devastation down here. This
is the worst natural disaster in the history of
the United States. All we can do is keep people
warm and healthy and get them back to work. A few
nights ago, we had a terrible rain and the
temperature was 30 degrees. Imagine you are a
mother with two children, living in a tent under
these conditions. It is mind-blowing. People are
not getting the help that they need from the
government. They are getting vital assistance from
faith based organizations and private
individuals."
A recent editorial in the local paper, the Sun
Herald has these words from the people of
Mississippi:
We are
here. Do not forsake us.
We are no footnote.
And one more thing...
Thank you. To every out-of-state volunteer,
to every friend and family member who has
sent supplies or prayers, we sincerely thank
you.
And we ask that you do one more thing: Call
your senators and your congressional
representative and ask them to support
additional aid for South Mississippi's
recovery.
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Lion Brand is asking our loving knitters and
crocheters to help. Blankets are desperately
needed. Prayer shawls and any other means of
helping keep people warm are welcome. You can use
our printable prayer
shawl cards or Lion
Brand Art cards to attach a personal note to
the items you send. A hand-made donation will mean
a lot! If you send blankets, please send those
that are warm and clean. For the next 2 months
warmth is crucial. If you don't have a gift to
send now, it will be welcomed when you have
finished it, especially in January. Here is the
address to ship to:
The Fox Den
c/o Mr. Randy May
2nd Street @ Menge Ave.
Pass Christian, MS 39571 |
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