Via Crooks and Liars: Adopt a Family in Houston
“I just received an urgent call to get this message out from the Cindy Sheehan camp. Anyone in distance of the Houston Astrodome get over there and adopt a family if you can. It’s a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. They need your help. The call is out. Let’s do something to help these families.” (I’m not sure I know what he means — probably warm support and material things that are needed — but thought I’d best post it. If anyone has more details, please share and I’ll update this.)
P.S. Did you see Illinois’ governor — Rod Blagojevich — on TV today? He’s guaranteeing that all Katrina refugee children will be accepted into Illinois schools. He also sent nat’l guard troops.
After tomorrow, I have 9 straight days off of work.
My plan was to vacation down in Southern Missouri. I already have a place all arranged and everything. That plan was created pre-apocalypse.
Where I was going is ~700 miles from Houston, but don’t you think that would stop me from driving down there. I can drive forever if I need to. And I have been DYING INSIDE for the last few days to do more than just give money and blood.
So please get more info. Tell me where to go and what to do. I want to help.
Hello –
I was listening to Ed Schultz earlier today and he was talking about adopting families in the most literal sense of the word. He solicited people to call in and commit to taking families into their homes. (IIRC) he also asked for bus companies to offer free rides to various areas in the U.S. He bet that kind-hearted folks out there would open there hearts and homes to those in need, and that those in need would gladly hop on a bus to another part of the nation where infrastructures are in place to support them. (paraphrasing on my part)
Good night!
Attached is a link to Air America’s home page, which has a link (mid-page) for folks to volunteer through the Red Cross. http://www.airamericaplace.com/
It would be great if we could adopt families in the coming months, through aid agencies, sending a set amount of cash every month, the way you can “adopt a child” overseas.
Wisconsin also sent 500 Guard, with more coming — and also is accepting college students as transfers (and we don’t start in the UW until next week, so can easily catch them up if they arrive after the semester starts). I know a dean in the UW med school who is working like mad, as are med schools around the country, to make sure that those crucial students training for future crises do not miss a day of school, of residencies, etc.
If you know any college students needing to transfer, please tell them to contact any UW campus — even over this holiday weekend, as steps are being taken to keep taking them in throughout. (We’re almost at crisis point with our enrollments, too, and cuts in state funding — but we will do this. We will do this.)
New K-12 students to the state always are taken in, too.
This just in at UW-Milwaukee re the above:
Dear UWM faculty and staff,
In case you receive any inquiries, please know that UWM will review the academic needs of college students whose educational plans have been disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. Already, several students and/or their families have communicated with UWM because of the Gulf Coast disaster.
Please direct specific inquiries to the Department of Enrollment Services at 414-229-4481 or 414-229-6164. . DES staff members will evaluate each case to determine the best course of action.
More information about UWM’s academic response can be found online at
http://www.uwm.edu/News//Announcements/cheng_hurricane.html
To stay up to date on additional campus developments related to the situation, please visit the Web link at
http://www.uwm.edu/News//Announcements/hurricane.html