Our trip out to Texas was something I needed. I needed to do something in my life that was bigger than me, bigger than my family, and bigger than my job and I think the trip to Houston filled that need. While on the road and since we have been back I have been thinking about how we can continue to make a difference, how we can continue to work with the people we know to have an impact on those around us. 

I would like to continue to collect items of necessity so that when they are needed someplace (near or far) we are in the position to help. I know there are so many individuals who want to help, but if there is not a personal connection with the organization helping it is sometimes a bit of a challenge. The ability to see where your donations are going and see that they are making a difference is important and I think it encourages those donating to do more. The communities that we are lucky enough to belong to were incredibly supportive of our Houston trip and I am sure they will continue to support other endeavors.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I am going to contact the school district where I teach and the district where my children attend to find a few families who need some assistance. We will get lists of food items that these families like to serve on Thanksgiving, the number of people in the family, and then collect and create boxes full of Thanksgiving dinner. This is obviously an idea that will not appeal to those who do not live close to these communities, but it is a start and a way to keep this going. However, I want those of you who are interested in this to please contact us with information about individuals, families, and organizations that could use the help. 

Once we have tackled Thanksgiving we will work on Christmas, dinner and presents, so that a few  families in the area are taken care of. I am trying to think on a small level now and maybe should just stay there, but I really want to be able to coordinate drives that will help certain families and communities in need. We have a network of people and businesses that can make great things happen, we just need to communicate and plan.

We can update the Facebook page with the items that are needed and anyone inclined to donate can drop the items off at our shop. One thing I learned while we were sorting and organizing for Houston was that bags filled an assortment of items were time consuming, bags that had multiple of the same type of thing were easy to sort. So if you decide that you want to donate $25 worth of items one month it is best if you just choose all shampoo, or all canned goods so that we can sort them faster.

Again, this is just a little idea and it will only work if we get continued support from our friends, family, and word of mouth. 

The photos above are during the flood and after (about a week and a half after it left), I tried to take photos of areas that were close to where the photos our friend had sent us were taken for better perspective. The road is I-10 and was completely under water during and after Hurricane Harvey. These were the pictures you would have seen where it looked like the road signs were in the middle of the ocean. Obviously the water has since receded and the road is fine, but the businesses and homes did not make out as well.

​Flood damage is not something that is always obvious. When we first drove into Houston things looked normal, it certainly did not look like a catastrophic flood had taken place a week and a half before our arrival. The damage that will occur in Florida from Hurricane Irma will be much more obvious, roofs will be ripped off buildings, signs and trees will be toppled, windows will be blown out, and when you visit after the storm it will be evident that destruction occurred. In Houston much of the destruction is hidden until you take a closer look.

In the above set of pictures (top two rows) you can see strip malls, all of the businesses are vacant due to flood damage. All of the individuals who worked at those stores are out of jobs, temporarily or permanently, just depending on what that business decides to do.

The set of pictures in the bottom row should give you an idea of how high the water was after Harvey. It is hard to imagine how high the water was, but the mud marks on the tree and the obvious line in the vegetation alongside the bayou help imagine what it was like. That tree was on the side of the road above the bayou, the water was over the bridge and the road was impassible.

This last set of photos does not need much explaining. Certain areas of the city were hit harder than others, a street may have gotten lucky and just one street over every house flooded. The amount of trash that is created from a flooded house is more than what you see in these photos because the city has done a pretty good job picking up the piles of waste quickly. These piles are most likely from the second or third cleaning of a flooded home, and unfortunately they will not be the last. There are piles of drywall, insulation, and carpeting mixed with appliances, furniture, and personal items. Cars caught in the flooding are most likely unsalvageable and many of the homes will be a compete loss.

​Consider this, only fifteen to twenty percent of the homes in Houston had flood insurance. These families will receive a small amount of disaster assistance, but it will not be enough for them to rebuild what they lost.

Many of the students we met have lost everything, and they did not have much to begin with. Rebuilding for their families will be difficult and tiring, rebuilding for some may not even be in Houston.

This trip gave these children some hope and brought smiles to their faces. This trip was one of the first steps to the rebuilding of Houston, and we were just a small part in this process. Similar trips have been made by other individuals, families, or organizations; some people have been there to help their neighbors clean up the mess from their yards, while others have been there to help at the shelters right after the storm. Each of these small acts of kindness is a step to rebuilding Houston, all of these individuals are key in helping the city recover.

Again, thank you. Each donation we received, big or small, is the start to Houston getting back on it's feet. ❤️ #HoustonStrong ❤️
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We woke up early, loaded up, and took off to the administration building to pick up the trailer. We were met by the assistant superintendent who took us on a whirlwind tour of five of the schools in the district who had the most students displaced by Harvey and the flooding. We visited Green Valley Elementary, Purple Sage Elementary, Cobb 6th Grade, Cimarron Elementary, with our last stop at Clover Leaf Elementary.

Lily and R.J. along with the five kids of our good friends were responsible for helping us unload and getting the students to the backpacks, school supplies, snacks, and toys. Once the students had these items they were sent to me where they were able to fill bags with pantry items, toiletries, toilet paper, and baby items. Not one student was greedy and tried to take a lot of things, in fact we had to encourage them to fill up their bags. Some would quietly ask for diapers so they could take them home for their baby brother or sister, and then we would have to figure out what size was needed...this took some work! Others would ask if we had shampoo for their mom or bars of soap for the shower.

The best part of my day was when a little girl came up and hugged me from out of nowhere. I didn't have time to cry all day, but this sweet hug definitely made me tear up.

The teachers who came out with the students were able to help us fill their bags with items that they knew the family would need and our kids were able to help the students fill their bags with some fun items. Stuffed animals were quick to go, and most of the kids who took them were planning on giving them to a younger sibling. Matchbox cars and Barbie Dolls were also a hit, but so many of the kids were hesitant to take them. When we got to our last school, Clover Leaf, our kids were pretty worn out so when it was time to go their was a collective sigh of relief. We headed back to the administration building to unload the rest of the donations and were met with a crew who helped us get the trailer unloaded within 45 minutes. We had so many donations left even after handing out a large portion and were told they came just in time because the last batch of donations was already gone.

To everyone who helped us make this trip happen, thank you. These children were so appreciative of the items they were able to get from the trailer and we were told many times throughout the day by their teachers how these kids lit up when they realized what was happening.

We had a hungry and tired crew of helpers so after a late lunch we made our way back home; a few of our workers even snuck in a car ride nap.

The drive to Houston from Logansport is not a short one. After eight hours of driving you feel good about the progress of your trip, you feel like stopping is a good idea and that the drive the next day will be cake. Then reality hits and you realize you have not even hit the halfway mark, you realize that the impending drive is not much shorter than a drive to Long Island. **Sigh**

Oh well.

We stopped at a five star hotel the 'Hunter Lodge'. The amenities were endless, the shower a dream, and the breakfast options delectable. Oh, wait, that is not right, our hotel smelled of mildew, had a shower curtain that was about to fall down, and only offered a few flakes of cereal for breakfast, but the beds were comfortable and we got a good night of sleep.

Then came our wake up call, no, it did not come in form of a call front the front desk, it was a bunch of loud thumps above our room. It was possibly a dead body being dragged to a less obvious location, possibly a bowling ball being dropped on the ground, or maybe just roofers reroofing the area right over our room. At least we were up early and could start the next leg of our journey.

We finally got to the Texas State Line around 4:00 PM & stopped to get some gas, in Cass County, which is our county back in Indiana. Only 281 more miles to go on this leg of the journey, so only about four more hours, we got this.

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The first day we received donations was a little overwhelming, but after a few minutes of putting things into perspective we decided to start with the water. Since it is the heaviest part of the load I worked on moving all of the cases into the trailer over the axles and then figured we would fill in with everything else. 

​Lily and R.J. wanted to get involved so Lily was in charge of making personal care packs and R.J. put together snack packs. I am surprised that he did not eat any of the snacks considering the boy has an endless appetite these days. They are excited because we told them they will be able to pass out the little packs to the kids at the school. 

Tuesday was a huge day for donations, and it was completely overwhelming. When I got to the shop after school, while I was thankful for the generosity, I had no idea how we were going to get everything that had been dropped off sorted and loaded in time. My mother-in-law thankfully stopped by and offered to help me and the kids, we were counting, but soon realized that we needed to just sort and load. Shannon's aunt was there to help us load the final boxes and bags into the trailer, what a relief. 

The district where we are headed has set up a meeting for families who are in need and they will be completing forms so that the process of getting these donations handed out is organized. I know that getting items where they are needed most is the priority of the schools and am grateful that they have been in touch with us about their plans.

Thank you to all of the individuals who have donated  (there are too many to list), EON, Logansport Schools, Maconaquah Schools, Northwestern Schools, Perry Township Schools, US24, Bunker Hill Drag Strip, Circus City Speedway, PNC Bank, Logan Stamping, Creative Promotions, Gundrum Funeral Home, McCord's, Cannan Bible, and Fisher Funeral Home.

In just a couple of days we leave...

I am not an emotional person, I do not cry much, but this past week I haven been teary eyed often. We had this little idea and our communities embraced it and have made this idea so much bigger than we imagined. Our friends and families (locally, in New York, Indianapolis, Canada), the mini sprint racing community, the drag racing community, Logansport Schools, Maconaquah Schools, and the residents of Logansport and surrounding towns have been so generous. Some have been able to give only a little, others have been able to give a lot, but each of these donations will make a difference. Each individual, family, and group who has given has made something special happen.

I promise that I will keep those of you interested updated on our trip, on the people we are able to help, and show you how your generosity will make an impact. I know that the people we meet and give these generous gifts will never meet you, but I know that each of them will appreciate your generosity and desire to give.

Shannon just spoke with the Assistant Superintendent of the district we are headed out to help and she is pumped that we are coming. There are 22,000 kiddos in her district and while we will not be able to help all of them, we will make a difference for a bunch of them. Everyone who has contributed to this effort is making something special happen. I am so lucky to be able to deliver this Trailer to Texas with my family, but each of you has made this possible. Thank you so much for making this small idea so big, this is an amazing gift that we are all giving together.

When disaster hits the desire to help is strong. When disaster hits the we feel helpless, especially when we are far from that disaster is strong. When disaster hits we want to be able to make a difference. We want to be able to do the right thing, we want to be able to reach out, and most importantly we want to feel connected...

My husband, Shannon, lived in Houston for six years and was a teacher at Galena Park ISD. After watching the footage from Hurricane Harvey and the destruction from the epic flooding, he wanted to do something for all of the students and families in that area. Since we have an enclosed 24' trailer we have the perfect way to bring necessary items to the families and individuals who have been displaced from their homes or who have lost many of the items in their homes from flooding. Obviously it would take a lot of money for us to fill the trailer on our own so we chose to reach out to those in the community to help.

Our initial list of needs included:
Socks
Water bottles
Blankets
Towels
Diapers
Baby items
Toiletries (shampoo, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper)
Non-perishable food

Within the first twenty-four hours we had more than enough water to take. Shannon went back to work after dinner and a large stack of water had been left outside the door to the shop. The next morning his cousin came by with a pallet of water bottles from EON and individuals in the community had dropped off cases of water. ​

By the end of the first day we had items ranging from baby formula and diapers, to socks and underwear, to personal care products. The page we created on Facebook had been shared many times and people we have never met were contacting us about bringing by donations. They were asking what we needed or if we would take a monetary donation since they were too far from us to drop of supplies. Yes! Donations can be directed to [email protected] via PayPal. Every single penny that we collect will go directly to the people who have been affected by the flooding from Harvey, we will keep

It is amazing what people will do for each other in a time of need, all they need is a way to feel connected, a way to feel like they are making a personal difference, and in this case a 24' trailer to fill. When we leave for our journey I will be updating those who follow the page, I will be letting people know what we were able to purchase with their money once we get to Texas, and I will be crying for sure. 

As I write this I am overcome by the goodness in people and I sit here with tears in my eyes as I type. People are good. People want to help. ...and I am so glad that my family is able to be the vehicle for so many people to assist those in need. 

Logansport Schools, Maconaquah Schools, EON, Creative Promotions, Gundrum Funeral Home, Logan Stamping, Creative Promotions, Circus City Speedway, Bunker Hill Drag Strip, McCords, US 24, and PNC Bank have helped us collect all of this after just a two and a half days:

77 cases of water (no more water this trip)
18 blankets
27 towels
23 shampoo
2 conditioner
21 body wash
62 bars of soap
5 bottles hand soap
80 razors
44 tubes toothpaste
151 tooth brushes
68 deodorant
19 hand sanitizer wipes
25 packages diapers
51 packages baby wipes
172 pair socks
19 rolls paper towels
105 rolls toilet paper
13 boxes tissues 
2 pillows w/ pillow cases
7 washcloths
96 jars baby food
2 box baby cereal 
3 bottle pedialyte
13 Feminine products 
34 personal care kits 
2 bags dog food
1 bag cat food