I just got this from my kids school: Hello All, We have quite a few (about 30 families and growing ) hurricane victims staying at our hotel and it is heart breaking to see how they have been affected. They are all so humble and are so thankful for any help they can get. We are trying to do what we can do to help, so I came up with an idea. We are having a FREE Garage Sale for the Hurricane victims at our hotel on Friday at 1pm. If you have any items (clothes, toys, food, kitchen stuff, blankets, pillows, etc. - ANYTHING) laying around the house, please bring it to the Residence Inn Park Central by noon on Friday. We will also be having another one on Tuesday at 1pm also. Any one attending the Garage sale will have to present an out of State license for admittance. Please help us help the Victims of Hurricane Katrina. Your help is greatly appreciated. Drop Off Time: Anytime between Now and Friday 12 pm for 1pm FREE Garage Sale Friday or By Tuesday at 12 pm for 1 pm FREE Garage Sales Tuesday Please pass this to anyone who you think may be able to help. If you would like to help, we would love to have you. Thank you in advance for your support. Melissa Van Sickels General Manager Residence Inn - Dallas Park Central 7642 LBJ Freeway Dallas, TX 75251 (972) 503-1333 (972) 503-8333 - fax [email protected] www.marriott.com/dalrp
Update: It appears this email has made the rounds, I'm guessing thousands have seen it by now. The person in our neighborhood that was coordinating it has found a plan B. The Salvation Army on Harry Hines is accepting donations for the thousands of people that are expected to arrive at Reunion Arena and the Convention Center. Last night my family crammed the back of our Yukon XL full of clothes, toys, personal hygiene items, flashlights, balls, radio control cars, and anything else we could think of. We're planning our holiday weekend while these people just want food, water, a bed and a shower.
More info, this on how to volunteer: Dear GSM Community: I have been down at ReUnion Arena all morning. Since the Dean's last e-mail to you, the scope of relief efforts and the number of refugees has grown significantly in Dallas. Dallas is now expected to receive about 12,000 refugees. Hundreds of people who literally just have the clothes on their backs were arriving at ReUnion since about 6am this morning. I want to update those of you who wish to volunteer at ReUnion and/or other shelters that may open in the next few days. Given the new scale of this effort, the American Red Cross needs all of you to undertake a few hours of formal training before you can volunteer at ReUnion or any other Red Cross Center. So BEFORE you go to Reunion, please go to the Dallas Convention Center: 650 S Griffen Street, Dallas, TX, 75202: http://www.dallasconventioncenter.com/contact/contact.asp. You can try to call the center at: 214 939 2700 or the Red Cross at 214 678 4800, but it is impossible to get through on these lines. I therefore suggest that you just go directly to the Convention Center. There will be a volunteer receiving area set up after 8am Friday morning. Just let people know that you wish to receive training so that you can volunteer to work with the refugees at ReUnion. I apologise for any confusion, but things changed rapidly overnight and continue to change, as the scale of this disaster continues to unfold. I will be returning to ReUnion now & am unfortunately, out of town until Monday afternoon, but will be back down helping out Monday evening, and will e-mail you with any new updates then. Obviously, with the influx of the refugees to Dallas overnight, people are in desperate need of physical donations. UD is collecting physical donations on campus for Catholic Charities. There are physical donation Centers being set up all over N. Dallas. What the Red Cross said people are in most need of are: underwear; socks; shoes (the people coming off the buses this morning almost all had shoes that were totally destroyed because of the flood waters); toiletries; female hygiene products; canned goods; water; and things to keep the children occupied - coloring books, simple toys, jump ropes, etc.... Thank you all for your help,
Yet another: The Salvation Army needs our assistance tomorrow, Saturday, Sept 3, from 8 am until 4 pm, and on Sunday, Sept 4, from 1 pm until 4pm, in the parking lot of the 9216 Harry Hines Blvd. location. The project includes breaking down pallets of supplies for the relief effort of the displaced families. They are requesting about 200 people each day. Of course, commitment for the full day is not necessary.
