As I scroll through my Facebook newsfeed, there are posts after posts about people collecting items to help those in need after the tremendous destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. I am a kaleidoscope of emotions as I think about the overwhelming generosity of millions of people from around the country. Many communities affected by the hurricane have been inundated with more donations than they have places to store them. Some communities have sent out urgent messages to stop bringing donations to their communities. As I scroll through comments on Facebook, I read about people's experiences with other hurricanes in the recent past. One man quipped that no one should donate clothes as many clothes donated during Hurricane Katrina were burned because there were not enough people to sort through the clothes, and many clothes were exposed to the outside elements, leaving them infested with bugs, mold and mildew.
My heart breaks as I see all this generosity going to waste. I think about my community. Approximately 50% of children under the age of 18 live in poverty. Many of these children only get ten meals a week during the school year (breakfast and lunch distriubted by their school on weekdays) and have almost no food during the weekends and summer. Most kids are joyous when that last bell sounds signifying the end of the school year. For children in my community, this signals another summer without food.
As I see people freely giving to the folks of Hurricane Harvey, I wonder if there are folks in their own communities who have needs. Are there food in the food banks, blankets and sheets on the beds in the homeless shelters, and volunteers to staff the numerous charities? I know people want to feel good that they are making a difference, but perhaps they are overlooking a very important way they can make a difference right in their own communities.
For me, I have decided not to donate to the Hurrican Harvey relief efforts. Being a girl of limited means, if I donate to the hurricane victims, I will be able to donate less to my own community. I know Houston, Rockport, Beaumont and all the other surrounding communities will be ok without my donation. But, as for my own community, I know children and families will suffer for every dollar I choose not to donate. How can I drive to church and look at all those hungry children wandering the streets without feeling guilty that I was able to eat breakfast while they are scavenging in trash bins and dumpsters looking for any food to fill their tummies? My heart breaks, and I continue my mission of donating as much as I can to my local food banks and to other local organizations who provide services to help those in need.
So as the news reports continue to flood the air waves with people's generosity to the folks in Texas, ask yourself, are there people in need in my own community? Although you will not get the fanfare and media coverage for donating to your own community, I know so many people will be deeply indebted to you for helping them in their times of great need. "If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail" (Isaiah 58:10-11).
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