Monday, September 12, 2011

We cannot do great things, but we certainly CAN and SHOULD do small things with great LOVE

It has been awhile since I last posted, I know I am slacking. No excuses.

Anyway...a lot has happened since July 29th (my last post) and much of it has to do with good ole Mother Nature. On August 23, much of the east coast from Virginia to New York felt the earth shake, which was later revealed as a 5.8 earthquake originating in Virginia...with a very shallow epicenter.

Most of us came out unscathed or thought nothing of it, and so we all carried on with our lives...until word got out that a could be category 3 hurricane, was expected to hit the East Coast from Thursday-Sunday...and hit it did. It may not have been a category 3 or even a category 1, but Hurricane Irene did hit and she hit hard, she hit places that never even prepared or expected to be hit, and as a result flooding and severe devestation occurred. Rotterdam Junction in New York State was washed away and flooded badly, Scotia was hit, Schenectady's historic stockade was partially underwater, and Amsterdam and beyond experienced devestating floods,that even destroyed a historic building. Troy, NY and the hudson swelled and emptied it's flooding waters up to river street and momentarily put buildings paritally under water. States such as Vermont, NJ, and Pennsylvania, also experienced massive flooding-of epic proportions. These floods devestated the local economy and have left many people with out homes, belongings, and meals. People were with out power and things were destroyed...and they were never expecting it to be this bad!


People had just started to think all was clear until the National Weather service announced the development of tropical storm Lee, but that was only supposed to bring some rain and not really bother us...so that Sunday when hearing about Lee, we thought we'd all sit and wait and see. However, amidst the waiting a tornado touched down  in Amsterdam, NY, something we'd never think would happen in the wierd week of weather events, did. Everyone went about the rainy week in New York, until about Wednesday night, where we learned that much of the southern tier, parts of the capital region, parts of central NY, and parts of the mid-huson valley would be impacted by more flooding, because remmnants of TS Lee, would be dropping off excess moisture...EXCESS MOISTURE?! In both the Southern Tier and in Pennsylvania they experienced serious flooding. The floods were quoted as being historic and some were the worst floods the areas have ever seen.  The other areas that had been recovering from Irene's flooding such as: Rotterdam Junction, Amsterdam, Scotia, Schenectady, Schoharie, Prattsville, etc (All in NY), also experienced more flooding bringing those areas back to square 1.

It has been a few days since Lee struck and clean up efforts have begun, it's been about 2 weeks since Irene left her mess, yet people are still in shock and disbelief and are left to pick up the pieces, from these natural disasters that have occurred. I will get into the helping out in a moment, but can I just say...DO YOU BELIEVE IN GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE YET? If these weather events weren't a warning sign of what's to come over the next several hundred years. I don't know what is.

Anyway. I have been helping doing psychological first-aid for disaster relief as part of the clean up efforts for hurricane Irene in Schenectady County, and it is just unbelievable to see the number of people that were and are directly and indirectly impacted by the damage that hurricane Irene caused(I hope to be able to do the same for victims of Lee). People's spirits and well being were at an all time low, some have gone without food, and are staying in hotels, because they lost everything. It really is a devestation. The floods that were brought on by Lee, have created more devestation and the need for disaster relief, this is the moment where we must reach out to our friends, loved ones, and even perfect strangers to help get them through their hard times. We should help in anyway possible, the smallest act of kindness and caring can go a long way, especially in these trying times. So I am asking everyone, if you live near an area that was impacted help out, if you have a friend or a loved one who was impacted by these natural disasters, help them and offer support and kind words, if you know no one and just generally care, help out.

All help counts, no matter how big or how small. As Mother Teresa once said: "We cannot do great things, but we can do small things with great love". Having compassion in a time where there is not much, is important, be compassionate and contribute to your community or there community  in any way you can.

If you want to make a monetary donation, here are a list of websites I have found, but also contact local agencies to see what they are doing:


**Above are just some of the many places that are seeking donations.**
If you can't make a monetary donation or want to do something more, look up local volunteer efforts! Disaster relief efforts are needed around the impacted areas and even just helping a friend or family member speaks volumes.

I apologize if I did not cover every area, if I did not cover your area or a specific donation site you'd like to mention, feel free to post it here. States along the eastern seaboard were impacted by the hurricanes and tropical storms and the need is great. Help in any way you can.

and for those who have been impacted: Do not lose hope, things will get better...maybe not today, or tomorrow, but they'll eventually get better. Don't be afraid to ask for help you should not have to go through this alone.

If you are feeling desperate, lost, and alone through these tragic times and feel like you cannot go on and you are thinking about suicide...PLEASE CALL: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Press 1 if you are a veteran or active duty soldier.

Remember: He who saves one life, saves the world entire (Schindler's List).