Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Praying for Oklahoma

Seeing the devastation coming out from the tornadoes in Oklahoma has been heartbreaking. All tornadoes are bad, but as a parent who was driving home after spending the morning at school doing one of my monthly volunteer shifts, hearing schools with students inside hit me pretty hard. I can't imagine. I don't want to imagine what those parents are going through because watching from the safety of my home in the NW corner of the country is hard enough.

I wrote about a tornado hitting a school in one of my books. But given I write sweet romance with happy endings, it happened on a weekend with no one there. The soccer fields and school were torn up, some houses damaged, but very minor, a plot-device like other natural disasters such as an earthquake I've used.

I sure wish I could rewrite the tornadoes in Oklahoma. But I can't. So I'll pray for all those affected and look for other ways to help. Here's what I've found so far:

1) Texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 sends $10 to the Disaster Relief fund. You can also donate online.
 
2) Texting the word STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation to the Salvation Army. You can also donate online.

3) Donate online to the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief fund. Click here to be taken to their site.

4) Mercury One has already arrived in Moore with trucks full of supplies. To donate to their Midwest Tornado Relief click here. 100% of proceeds go to victims.

There are also many fur-covered victims of this tragedy, too. A Facebook group has been created to help those with animals. Check out Moore Oklahoma Tornado Pets Lost & Found. There are pictures of animals missing and/or found as well as links to other places that may have animals.

If you find any other links, just post them in the comment section and I'll add it to the list. Thanks!