Sending Supplies and Prayers to Moore, Oklahoma

Like everyone else in the country, we watched with wide eyes and heavy hearts the horrific damage caused by the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20. With 24 deaths and entire neighborhoods and schools demolished, it was painfully obvious recovery would take a long time. And, like many other organizations, our immediate response was, "What can we do to help?" As fate would have it, the opportunity to take action came to us via an employee at the Texas Association of School Boards in Austin. He was helping to collect supplies and donations that would be delivered to the residents of Moore. As word spread throughout Austin and beyond, bottled water, toiletries, non-perishable food, gift cards and more poured into the Hula Hut on Lake Austin, which was serving as the drop off location -- click here to watch the story that aired on the local ABC station. What began as an effort to fill a pick-up truck turned into a moving van full of much need supplies. This makes us proud to be Texans!

When we got the call to donate to this effort, we couldn't write the check fast enough. While we realize $1000 is a drop in the bucket, we sure hope it provided a meal and a ray of hope to families left with nothing.

Call it paying it forward, good karma, or just doing the right thing, this is one of those times when human nature should be to give and not look the other way. While we may not agree with his politics, we wholeheartedly agree with this quote from Bill Clinton: "…when we give what we can, and give it with joy, we don't just renew the American tradition of giving, but we also renew ourselves."