Our Philippines Typhoon Relief Fundraiser is Tomorrow

In the wake of the deadly typhoon that struck the Philippines last weekend, the death toll has now risen to 3,621.  The number of injured is over 12,000 and another 1,100 are missing.  Tens of thousands more are without food, water or shelter.  Last week, Tacloban was a thriving city of more than 200,000.  Today it is practically a ghost town.

As we debated how to handle this situation this week, one of our co-workers here at Townsquare Media dismissed the tragedy by saying "charity begins at home".  And, admittedly, I agreed with her.  Then I did some reading.  Turns out the Philippines has been an ally of our country since World War II.  For many years, it was an official United States territory.  There was once even talk of making it a state.

With all of the problems we have here, it's easy to ignore people on the other side of the globe.  But this isn't a "nation by nation" issue. It's not political. These people have been devastated by a disaster that could have hit anywhere on the planet. How does the world sit back and allow human suffering?  Especially here in America.

There's a lot of talk about the "haves" and the "have-nots" these days.  The truth is, if you were born in the United States, you are the 1%. Even if you're struggling to scrape by, you are among the richest people on the planet.  We hit the genetic jackpot.  Based on dumb luck alone, even the poor in this country have a standard of living that most people on Earth can only dream of.

For nearly a century, the Philippines have been there for us.  Now it's our turn to help them out in their time of need.  Tomorrow, we are holding a fundraiser for the Red Cross Typhoon Relief Fund.  We'll be at Stockman Bank on King Avenue from 10 am to 2 pm collecting donations.  Whatever you can give will be greatly appreciated.  Change is good, dollars are better.  We'll also have donuts and pastries from Albertsons and our friends at Stockman Bank have generously agreed to match the donations up to $1,000.  We hope to see you there.  If you can't make it out tomorrow, please help out however you can.  Here's a link with more information.