This is very upsetting to me. My hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa was hit with a record amount of flooding last week. The entire downtown area is underwater. This is the worst flooding in history. Never in a million years did I think something like this could happen there. Last I heard, over 24,000 residents have had to leave their homes. Cedar Rapids is only 120,000 people! The damage is now at an estimated ONE BILLION dollars! That is catastrophic for a city of that size.
They are going to need long-term help. Right now officials are still trying to sort things out, so if you are interested in helping, you can check the Cedar Rapids Gazette online (www.gazetteonline.com) and click on 'how to help' to see what they need right now. And please check back periodically to see how else you can help as they figure everything out. Of course there's always the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
On a positive note, the residents have rallied and stood by each other, all pitching in to help wherever help is needed. The other day, I saw a photo of the nurses and doctors at Mercy hospital, dressed in scrubs, outside working to bag sand. That really hit me. I thought 'that's my city!' and was proud of them. My dad was telling me that last Friday, day two of the worst of it, during the 10 o'clock news there was a call for help. There were only 6 people helping to sandbag down at the water plant. After that call for help, a group of 1200 people marched down the street to help! I know, chills. So proud.
Anyways, if you can, please help out the residents of Cedar Rapids, and all of Iowa. It was a rough week for the entire state, and it will be awhile before everything is back to normal.
Also I wanted to mention, are the pets of Cedar Rapids. Kirkwood Community Collage has turned into an animal shelter. All of the displaced people can't bring their animals to the shelters that they are being sent to, so this is a place to take your pets and know that they are safe. Unfortunately, though, they are still pets that are out wandering around, waiting to be rescued from deserted homes and buildings and taken to a safe place. They need your help too. While PetSmart did their part and brought a truckload of supplies (which, by the way, when shopping for your pet at PetSmart, and they ask if you'd like to add a donation to your purchase, do it! They actually put it to good use!) they still need more. One charity that I have recently discovered is an auction to help the Cedar Rapids animal shelter, which was completely destroyed. Their website is...
I will be donating my 'Sunset Wishes' print for the cause, I hope they raise a lot of money!
Sorry for such a long post, but it's been a very rough week on everyone.
