Wellesley’s Diane Gagne reached out to us about a fundraising page she has launched to help those in Texas affected by Hurricane Harvey.

“I set a goal of raising $25,000 for disaster relief through the Red Cross,” Gagne writes. “The people that I have spoken to say they were thinking about donating, but were waiting to see what other people would organize.  I have taken the first step, definitely not the only fundraising effort, to get people moving in the relief effort.”

*********************************

We know of at least one family in Wellesley who has Houston relatives who can use a helping hand. Here’s their story as told by Margaret Loofbourrow, a Wellesley resident who is from Houston:

My brother and sister-in-law’s house in Houston was flooded by five feet of water after the Addicks dam was released. And it will continue to be flooded for at least two more weeks. They were not told that they were in the flood zone for the release or warned to evacuate. It happened so fast. They escaped by boat with the clothes on their backs. Everything else was destroyed, including their cars. To add insult to injury, they have no income right now. Walter is in the oil industry and Mary is recovering from foot surgery. I’m sure you’ve already donated to relief funds, but if you’re interested in helping Walter and Mary specifically, they and I would greatly appreciate it. Every little bit helps.  We’re hoping to raise at least the the $9k that they’ll need to pay for a furnished 1B apartment for the next 3 months.

Thank you.

https://www.youcaring.com/walterandmarylaflin-916918

***********************************

Wellesley High students are also helping out. This note was posted in the WHS list of activities for the week:

Help for Houston

​​​​​​​As we all may know, Houston and the East Texas area are currently struggling through what has been considered to be the worst natural disaster in Texas history. Many victims are without shelter, clothing, and food. Although rescue efforts have been successful so far, people are still without shelter, food, and water, and they are in dire need of help.

As Americans, it is important to realize that the people of Houston are a part of our community on a national scale, and we must find some way to help them. Although we are too far away to go rescuing people in boats and helicopters, we have the opportunity to support the first responders and those who continue to provide disaster relief.

Because of this, we aim to support Texans helping Texans. Thousands of people across the state of Texas are flocking to the Houston area to help with disaster relief. It is striking to see all the people of Texas coming together in tough times. This is why we have decided to start collecting donations for Operation BBQ Relief, or OBR. OBR provides warm meals for emergency responders and displaced residents in times of disaster, as they are doing right now in the Houston area. Pitmasters, employees, and volunteers from BBQ joints across the state of Texas have traveled to Houston and are providing those affected by Hurricane Harvey with much needed food. To ensure they can continue to help these people, it is important they receive the funding and support they need.

We will be collecting monetary donations during all three lunches on Wednesday, September 6th and Friday, September 8th. Please consider donating to this great organization. Both OBR and the people in East Texas are depending on the help of their fellow Texans and Americans, and we must answer their call. Thank you, and may we keep the people affected by this disaster in our thoughts and prayers.

Best regards,

Benjamin Lussier, Zane Salameh, Justin Mitchell, Glen Manglapus, Eric Wadja, Jacob Einbinder, and Blake Harju