As most of you know, the last couple of weeks have been a doozy, weather-wise, from the midwest to the deep south and southeast. Less than two weeks ago, deadly tornadoes cut paths through the eastern sections of my home state, North Carolina, leaving many of the lives they spared in upheavel. Earlier this week, terrible storms devastated parts of Arkansas. And, yesterday, wow, just one for the books. What happened in Alabama and parts of Georgia is heart-wrenching. Monster tornadoes practically wiped entire communities off the map. As of the time I'm writing this, over 250 were confirmed dead, across several southern states, due to the storms of yesterday and last night - and that number is expected to rise significantly.
Lots of people are displaced (including little ones), with stresses now introduced into their lives that no one should ever have to face, and many of them are mourning loved ones lost in the storm on top of having lost all material possession. They'll have to rebuild their lives from the rubble. Many of them need our help to do so.
I want to encourage those of you who read here to help in ANY way, and in ANY amount, that you can. If you can't help monetarily, these folk sure could use some prayers on their behalf. Below are some entities where you can contribute to help the victims of these storms.
National Organizations
American Red Cross
You can also call 1-800-RED-CROSS or text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
The Salvation Army (in the box for "specific use", type "April 2011 tornado outbreak")
You can call 1-800-SAL-ARMY and donors can text "GIVE" to 80888 to make a $10 donation. Checks can be made out to the Salvation Army Disaster Relief, P.O. Box 100339, Atlanta, Ga., 30384-0339.
Samaritan's Purse
State-specific Organizations
Alabama
Governor's Emergency Relief Fund
Arkansas
The Spirit of Arkansas/Local American Red Cross
North Carolina
North Carolina Tornado Relief/Local American Red Cross
I encourage you to help in whatever ways you can. If you CAN help, please do. If you can't, please pray.
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