Posted on 12/28/2005 2:22:02 PM PST by WestTexasWend
One year after a tsunami devastated a dozen nations and killed more than 215,000 people, local charities are still sending help. You'll recall the campaign "From Lubbock With Love" raised over a million dollars for tsunami relief. All that money was donated by citizens right here on the South Plains. It was then split between Breedlove Dehydrated Foods, and the local chapters of the Salvation Army and Red Cross. NewsChannel 11's Kealey McIntire tells us how that money is still helping survivors. >>>
A year ago on December 26th, the tsunami wiped out much of Southeast Asia, leaving its residents without clean water food or clothes. Ten days later, United Supermarkets, American State Bank and NewsChannel 11 announced the From Lubbock With Love campaign challenging the community to raise $1 million for tsunami relief. The community surpassed that and raised $1,068,542. And now, a year later Breedlove General Manager David Fish reflects on the year's efforts.
"There's a lot of things last year at this time I wouldn't believe," said Fish. "I wouldn't believe the city of Lubbock would come forward with over a million dollars."
But they did and Breedlove's first shipment left in January, since then they've shipped out 11 million servings of food they expect to ship out another six million by April.
Dr. John Bailey has volunteered in orphanages and hospitals in the devastated countries he's seen first hand how much the food from Breedlove helps.
"It actually has been a sustaining factor in the lives of these kids," said Bailey. "It would've been devastating if we did not have this food."
Bailey said without these donations orphaned children would be forced to eat only once a day. Fish said they hope to provide food for those children for years to come.
Bailey showed pictures and spoke of his experience Fish said hearing firsthand how they've helped is even more rewarding. "Having the testimony, the story on the actual effect of it, it's a tremendous blessing and it helps our morale."
Breedlove has also set up partnerships with several humanitarian agencies to provide help, they'll continue efforts until funding runs out.
Compare this with the efforts of the UN, where fully 1/3 of tsunami aid money never made it out of their headquarters in NYC.
Lubbock/South Plains ping, please?
We're just a bunch of bigoted, rightwing, uncaring and cold hearted Republicans out here on the South Plains completely unlike the party of tolerance and caring who raised so much more money than us for tsunami relief....
Quit, you're makin' me homesick...
Don't be sad! There's good conservative folk in Oklahomey 'cuz I know some of 'em!!!!:-)
Liberalism: A cancer upon anyone's society.
W. Tx ping
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