Wednesday, September 18, 2013

A Call to Action: Help Colorado Flood Victims

As many of you may have heard, over the past week Colorado was flooded with an unprecedented amount of rain, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes. As of last night, there are still around 648 unaccounted for and 8 people who have lost their lives.

The numbers of homes that were damaged or totally destroyed are staggering. According to the Denver Post, in the Front Range alone, over 17,994 damaged and 1,502 destroyed. In Boulder County, 111 damaged and 119 destroyed. Weld County, around 2,900 damaged, the numbers are still not in for the homes destroyed. In Larimer County, around 4,500 damaged and 1,500 destroyed. 

The scariest thing about these numbers is there are many more counties that are still working to assess the damage as the people who live there are still stranded. These numbers also do not include all the damage to the infrastructure of these counties, the businesses destroyed and the agricultural properties affected. It is truly heartbreaking.


The victims of this flood need your help. Since floods are not prevalent in Colorado, a majority of these people do not have flood insurance, so they have literally lost everything. So what can we do??? Here are some ways you can help our fellow Coloradans in need:
  • The Red Cross- To help people affected by disasters like these floods, people can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be made by visiting Colora doRedCross.org.
  • The Salvation Army- The Salvation Army gives 100% of proceeds to the victims. To give, visit imsalvationarmy.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769) and designate "Colorado Floods." You may also text GIVEHOPEIM to 80888 to donate $10 to The Salvation Army. 
  • http://www.helpcoloradonow.org/- HelpColoradoNow.org is a partnership between the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) and Colorado Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (COVOAD). This initiative brings together government agencies and non-profit organizations so they may better assist communities affected by disasters. This organization has 3 ways you can help, financially, volunteering and donating supplies. 
  • Tonight: The Colorado Broadcasters Association, Rocky Mountain PBS, the Red Cross and the Community Food Share are teaming up Wednesday for the Colorado Flood Relief Fundraiser telethon. The telethon will air from 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on PBS. 
  • Onerepublic- The Colorado native band, Onerepublic, is also turning their annual charity fundraiser into a fundraiser for the victims of this flood. It will be held on December 20th at the Ogden Theatre. Tickets go on sale this weekend. 

Coloradans have proven their strength through this terrible disaster and we will overcome. 

Source: The Denver Post

No comments :

Post a Comment