.“There is Magic in helping others that creates a ripple effect. Each act of service creating ever wider circles of acts of service and compassion. One small act each day is all it takes to change our world.” – Peter Dybing
We all weather these storms.
Right now, Peter Dybing is helping to move trees from roads so rescue vehicles can get resources to trapped people. Right now, the people of Occupy Sandy are organizing volunteers, blankets, food, water, and other resources and bicycling them into impassable neighborhoods, walking water and flashlights up flight after flight of stairs to elderly people, and families with small children. Right now, Jacqueline Carly and others are loading trucks in Boston to drive supplies to New York. People are without light, food, shelter, water, and heat, and homes. The cold is here, and a new storm is on its way. They are not alone.
We all weather these storms.
Right now, hundreds of thousands in Haiti are once again homeless, the fragile infrastructure once again destroyed. 70% of their crops are destroyed, leaving more than one million at risk of starvation. There are homeless in Washington DC who had no place to go as the storms battered the streets. Homes have been destroyed and people displaced in Staten Island, Red Hook, the Lower East Side, Rockaway, Coney Island… We’ve seen the photos. Heard the reports. Followed the stories.
We all weather these storms.
Occupy Sandy – in the midst of mobilizing toward action so efficiently that the Red Cross is sending them volunteers – is talking a lot about “mutual aid.” Mutual Aid isn’t about politics. It isn’t about class, although class differences are thrown into stark relief during disasters. Mutual Aid is about all of us living together, on this gorgeous planet, with an increasing population and climate that is changing rapidly before our eyes. Mutual Aid is a recognition that we are not alone, and we must help one another. Plutocrats, anarchists, libertarians, socialists, the extremely poor, the obscenely rich, we all share this planet. It is time to wake up. It is time to acknowledge that interdependence must give rise to generosity. Pretending we are islands of isolation doesn’t function too well when the islands are battered by storms of this magnitude.
We all weather these storms.
We weather them together, or we perish, in body or in soul. The easiest way for those of us with resources who live far from the Eastern Seaboard to acknowledge our links to those suffering, and those stepping up to help, is to send money. The morning after the storm hit, before we knew the extent of the damage, and where the hardest hit areas were, I called Peter Dybing, who at the time was being deployed to DC (he is now helping in NYC). He hooked me up with David Salisbury, who told me Miriam’s Kitchen was helping with blankets, food, and hypothermia kits. I started up a quick, ad hoc campaign. We’ve raised close to $1500 so far, and I’m calling that a victory of love. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed.
I’m writing today to announce that Solar Cross Temple is starting a new campaign to send funds to Occupy Sandy to help them continue the amazing work they have begun, which is only beginning, as those affected by Hurricane Sandy move into winter with a broken infrastructure. We are still looking for a good group working on the ground in Haiti to donate funds to, wanting to make sure that the bulk of the money goes to actual aid, and not administration costs.
I am asking for your help. 
If you have $5, $10, $50, $150 to spare, if you can pool resources with friends, covens, households, kindreds, or lodges, please consider helping us. We are taking donations via Paypal (the FirstGiving site we used for Miriam’s Kitchen doesn’t have that ability, which left many unable to donate). Please send them to solarcrosstemple@gmail.com with the subject line “Hurricane Relief.” We will send the funds on $250 or $500 at a time, depending on how much comes in, and how quickly.
I will update my blog periodically to let you all know how much we have sent on. We’ve done other campaigns in this way with great success, as those of you who donated to the Native Elders Winter Fuel drive know. All of the donations will go toward hurricane relief. If you want to add 3% to cover Paypal fees, that is wonderful. If you can’t do that, Solar Cross will cover those fees as part of our contribution to the cause.
Blessed be those in need.
Blessed be those who offer love in action.
We all weather these storms.
May your life be blessed.
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