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| A Shell station engulfed in flood water |
Baton Rouge is the second largest city in Louisiana and as of 2013 has a population of around
229,426. Sadly, Baton Rouge was one of the cities that was hit by downpours of rain and monstrous flooding. Donations and relief have been pouring into the state to help the victims of these floods rebuild their homes and their lives. Most of the time we hear about celebrities donating money or taking down trucks full of food. It warms all of our hearts to see this but most of us look at this and think "There is no way that I could ever do that"
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| A load of Lumber donated from Southbound Lumber. Semi is driven by Roger Carter of Roger Carter Trucking |
Last week Brandon Stephenson, Jesse Meyers and my parents Eric and Melanie Osman decided that they had to help. Brandon and Jesse are very well known for running one of the local tattoo shops, Eric and Melanie run a trucking company together. A plan was laid out with one goal. Fill a semi-truck with donations and supplies to help the people of Baton Rouge. Within one weeks time not only did they meet their goal but they surpassed it as well. Brandon was able to get many local business to donate goods and Eric and Melanie were able to get donations from Southbound Lumber and a barn from
Dennis Shlaboc. Where did the rest of this come from? From locals.
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| Donations from Rich Harries and Abby McFarland |
People were more than happy to help. Buying everything from canned goods, to shampoo, to dolls, to baby food. The out poor of goodwill from such a small town was mind blowing. It took very little time to fill the floor of Status Tattoo up with donations. It felt like everyone in the county was showing up to help. Booths were set up in the parking lot of the Tractor Supply and the IGA Market. It didn't take long to see that this was going to be bigger than any of us could have dreamed. Both my aunt Michele and I emailed newspapers and local T.V stations. Southern Ohio To Louisiana was featured in two local papers. The Informer(photo bellow) and
The Ledger Independent .
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| Southern Ohio To Louisiana featured in The Informer |
My husband and I went to drop off our donations and were blown away by everything. Both Eric and Melanie were sitting down for a break. They were surrounded by boxes. The trailer that was to be hooked up to Eric's semi was almost half full, a pallet of pet food and a pallet of horse food were yet to be loaded. It was hard not to cry, its not hard to cry while writing this. Our town, our county our Tri-County area came together in less than one week to help people in need. The grand total was one semi-truck full of donations and supplies, one truck loaded with lumber and a small barn and enough cash donations to fund the trip down, the trip back and to give directly to the victims to help them in anyway it can. Right now they are still on the road. Last that I saw on their
Facebook they had just crossed the Mississippi line bringing them closer to their goal. Even though the time for donations is over there is still one way that everyone can help. Lets get this viral.
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| The floor of Status Tattoo cover in donations |
Why get this viral? Because all of us want people to know that you don't have to famous to help. You don't have to come from money to make a difference. All of us are hard working 9-5ers, we live paycheck to paycheck, we drive cars that may not run so well, we may not have big fancy houses, we aren't rich and famous. All of us, all of you who donated, we are America. The real America. In hard times we pull together and help one another. The world isn't all a bad place. There is good left in the world and everyone can make that good, even if you are just an average Joe. This is why this needs to be viral. Because America is alive. She lives and breathes in not the violence or the disasters that happen, but in the hearts of all of us. I think my aunt Michele said it best in her
post when she said "In this world of hate and murder, people need to see that there are good, kind, caring people still out there"
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| E&M Trucking hauling all the donations. Semi-truck is driven by my parents, Eric and Melanie Osman |
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