Ways You Can Help in the Wake of the Alabama Disaster

As many of you already know by now thanks to the power of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, Alabama has been devastated by storms that swept through April 27, 2011. The number of fatalities is staggering. Many of you may want to help. I have been in contact with several companies myself and will post as I can about the ways they have responded periodically. There is an outpouring coming from all over the country via various Facebook pages with people wanting to donate items and volunteer.

This storm has disrupted many lives in Cullman County, the Birmingham metro area, and the city of Tuscaloosa and several smaller communities along the way. There are a lot of pictures at http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/04/tornadoes_kill_over_200.html. ABC 33/40 has a lot of aerial videos at their weather blog: http://www.alabamawx.com/.

An announcement from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa stated yesterday that the semester was ending and students could take the grades they had as of April 27, 2011 or schedule their finals at a later date, but their graduation has been moved to August.

Radio stations in Birmingham have been working fervently to compile lists of ways people can help as have television stations. And my list is not complete, but it will be updated as I can.

1. Pray.

2. Contact the American Red Cross.

3. Contact area churches and missions agencies for ways you can donate financially or donate items or volunteer.

4. The church I attend has set up a disaster relief Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oak-Mountain-Church-Disaster-Relief/182244861826158. They also have a page on their website: http://www.oakmountainchurch.org/tornado-disaster-relief.

Upcoming Event

If you are interested in perhaps one of the biggest FREE events (outside of Alabaster's CityFest in June) in the Birmingham area, come to StadiumFest Saturday, April 2, 2011. The event will be held at Spain Park High School and will have a children's play area. Christian group Casting Crowns and Christian artist TobyMac are the headliners along with several local "celebrities," like Rick and "Bubba," Kevin Derryberry and James Spann the weatherman from ABC 33/40. By the way, they would like as many volunteers as they can get, so consider contacting them about volunteering your time before, during or after the AWESOME music as well as enjoying the FREE event. It's really NOT too often that I get THIS excited over upcoming events, but this one merits the excitement. And if you do come, look for me over in the children's area where I will be volunteering before going to see TobyMac whose music has been an inspiration and an encouragement since I got diagnosed with my immune deficiency almost a year ago. And in case you're wondering who TobyMac is, most of the more mature people may recall the Christian group DCTalk. I will post more information and links in the days to come when I can access a computer, but for now, consider this a preview until after I see my primary medical doctor about some rather intense upper right quadrant pain that needs prayers.