Greetings TAIR Members,
I am writing to you about the hurricane that is causing devastation across the south Texas region.
My heart goes out to our members, our friends and our families who are living through this nightmare. As I prepared my home for unprecedented rainfall on Friday night, I did not know what I would wake up to on Saturday. As it turned out, San Antonio was relatively unscathed in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, but unfortunately, areas to the east and south of us sustained significant damage. My family and I watched on the news and social media and wept as we saw our friends and family in such a state of chaos and danger, wishing that we could do anything to help. While there are no words to express the pain in our hearts, we want you to know that our thoughts are with you.
I imagine that many of you are like me and want to do something to assist our fellow Texans through this tragedy. To that end, I would like to encourage you to make a donation to a charity of your choice to benefit those who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey. If you would like to donate to the Red Cross you can do so here. If you’re not sure of which charity to give to, this article may be helpful. HEB, Central Market, and Joe V’s Smart Shop stores have a campaign where you can donate $1, $3, or $5 to your total grocery bill during checkout. Several local United Way campaigns have been started as well.
The sentiments expressed in this email are reflective of all of us on the TAIR Executive Committee. The committee would like to find specific ways in which we can assist our members. If you are directly affected, please reach out to anyone on the committee and let us know of any ways in which we can support you or provide assistance to you through this tragedy. If any members have ideas of ways we can provide support, please contact any of your TAIR officers: https://www.texas-air.org/index.php/officers/
While it feels insurmountable at the moment, I believe that Texas will see the other side of this and come out stronger for it.
Kara Larkan-Skinner, Ed.D.