(Editor's Note:  The following is an encouraging letter about what's still a discouraging event.  Many are starting to realize that animals have also been devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  This is a way to help solve some of those problems!)

Good Morning to all,

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed mine. I spent the weekend volunteering in Houston, helping to get the Katrina refugees settled.  My daughter went through all her toys and clothes, we went through our clothes and we managed 10 bags full of clothes and 4 bags full of toys. Add to that the animal food and horse feed I will pick up today and I feel better then I have in a long time! 

I do not think I have ever been thanked as much as I was this weekend and my reply to all was that we are Americans, we stand together and thanks is not needed! Now that we have the human survivors settled here in Texas and elsewhere, it is time to turn our attention to the non-human survivors. Thousands of animals are also displaced; horses, cats, dogs, ferrets and more are still in need! And food is desperately needed, as are foster homes.

Here are some links and the phone number to Lonestar equine rescue who are looking for volunteers and trailers and horsefeed!  Please do what you can. I know a lot of us do not have much but we, at this point, have more then Katrina's victims, human and non-human.

I personally want to thank everyone who has come to our neighbor's rescue, and it makes me extremely proud to be an American! So here is the link to the American Humane society, Louisiana SPCA, and the number and email for for the LoneStar Equine rescue; feel free to forward this to your friends, we all can help!
 
www.hsus.com
 
www.la-spca.com
 
LoneStar Equine Rescue:
713-467-3444 or email
 rose@wtshouston.net
 
Again thank you!!!!!  Pull those belts tight, The green's gonna fly. And this ain't no ordinary ride!

Poet K. A. Steffek
Author of:"Poetry in Fast Motion" and upcoming book
"The need for speed in poetry"
Frskyfeline@aol.com
PoetSteffek@aol.com (NASCAR Poetry Business only)

FEEL YOUR HEART RACE!
Give to the Victory Junction Gang Camp!
www.victoryjunction.org

The challenges faced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina are mammoth and won’t be resolved any time soon.

Not since The Great San Francisco Quake in 1906 has a major American city  faced such widespread enormous destruction, chaos and anguish.  Where the September 11th tragedy in New York City was overwhelming, it was centralized in a region of one city.

The damage from Hurricane Katrina stretches from Florida to Louisiana encompassing thousands of square miles and millions of people in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.  The human epicenter of the damage appears to be New Orleans where there was damage from the Hurricane coupled with unprecedented flooding from damaged levees that protected The Crescent City from surrounding lakes, rivers and gulf waters.

Millions are homeless in this Gulf Coast area.  Property damage is thorough.  The recovery will take years.  Most assuredly, the region will never be the same.

It’s hoped that aid from the public and private sector can be marshaled immediately to where it’s needed to quell human suffering.  It’s hoped that that public and private sector aid won’t be politically inspired or based and it will come from the same human hearts that responded to the tsunami relief in Asia last December.  This is a time when international ingenuity needs to be unified to help Americans who are in desperate need.

There are numerous places you could send your aid if you choose to help.  However, we encourage you to be thoughtful when you send that help.  Unfortunately there are many people who would fraudulently take your money and do nothing. 

We do know that The Red Cross was at work immediately after the crisis and remains in the region working hard to help.  Their contact information is included here.  Your cash donations to The Red Cross would be appreciated.

The Red Cross
www.RedCross.org
English: Red Cross (800) HELP NOW (435-7669)
Spanish: (800) 257-7575 Spanish

This is the CNN.com Help Center where there are links to Federal, regional and private agencies geared to Hurricane relief.

There are other ways to help and links are available at this location: The Network for Good.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency lists these organizations for those seeking to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina:

TO DONATE CASH:

Operation Blessing (800) 436-6348

America's Second Harvest (800) 344-8070

TO DONATE CASH OR VOLUNTEER:

Adventist Community Services (800) 381-7171

Catholic Charities, USA (800) 919-9338

Christian Disaster Response (941) 956-5183 or (941) 551-9554

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (800) 848-5818

Church World Service (800) 297-1516

Convoy of Hope (417) 823-8998

Lutheran Disaster Response (800) 638-3522

Mennonite Disaster Service (717) 859-2210

Nazarene Disaster Response (888) 256-5886

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (800) 872-3283

Salvation Army (800) SAL-ARMY (725-2769)

Southern Baptist Convention — Disaster Relief (800) 462-8657, ext. 6133

United Methodist Committee on Relief (800) 554-8583

Former Presidents George Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton again have come together at the request of President Bush to lead a nationwide fund-raising effort.  They were successful in marshalling aid in the tsunami aftermath.  They coordinated efforts from government, private business and the public at-large.  It’s assumed that will happen again and will be just as successful.  Those details are forthcoming.

We encourage you to help.  And if you're a person who believes in prayer, much is needed now!