The above photo was taken at the Riverwalk in New Orleans on May 31, 1996. It shows the two of us (center), with our friend Brittany (left) and Robyn's sister Jennifer (right) enjoying an outdoor concert by the Four Tops. We were married the next day in the French Quarter on June 1, 1996.

Several Hurricane Katrina fundraising drives are starting to sprout up. One of my favorites is the "Kids of Katrina School Supply Drive" over at asmallvictory.net.

UPDATE: Christine is putting out the word to all knitters — she's collecting knitted and crocheted goods such as baby booties for Hurricane Katrina victims in Houston. For more information, visit her site.

Being a new mom two years in a row in a hurricane zone, a cause near and dear to my own heart — and one I've been looking around for to donate to this time around — is requesting baby formula and other baby items. I found this on the BabyCenter forums:

"St. Edmond's Catholic Church in Lafayette, LA, is requesting diapers, baby wipes, baby food, bottles, diaper rash ointment, formula, car seats, baby bedding, baby clothing, toys and books, and toiletries for moms and dads."


Here is what we sent today just to give you an "example shopping list" to go by:
2-pack newborn pacifiers
2-pack 6 months+ pacifiers
2 disposable bottle feeding sets
bottle drop-in liners
2-pack bottle nipples
ready-to-feed formula 8-pack
take and toss sippy cups
take and toss infant spoons
take and toss bowls with lids
baby diapers medium
baby diapers large
2 diaper rash creams
2 baby wipe boxes
disposable baby washcloths
Purell hand sanitizer

Drugstore.com (where we made our purchase) offers free standard shipping on orders over $49, and free 3-day shipping on orders over $99. The address to ship to is:

St. Edmond's Church
Hurricane Katrina Supplies
4131 W. Congress St.
Lafayette, LA 70506

If you would like to double-check legitimacy, here is a KATC-3 News Google cache on St. Edmond's Church and Hurricane Katrina.

UPDATE: Another organization reporting a need for the same baby items listed above is at the following address:

Women's Hope Center
Hurricane Katrina Supplies
222 Veterans Blvd.
Suite C
Denham Springs, LA 70726


Monetary donations can be mailed to:

Women's Hope Center
P.O. Box 1240
Walker, LA 70785

More information about "Women's Hope Center" can be located at WBRZ TV.

Also check and see if your company offers corporate matching for monetary donations to the Red Cross and other relief organizations. Todd's company matched our Red Cross donation with double its value.

Last but not least, the fourth-annual 2005 Blogger -Thon kicks off in less than a month. There are graphics to link to the event here. You can also find information there on how to volunteer, and the types of volunteers needed. This year our "bloggers helping bloggers" portion of the fundraising event will go towards the American Red Cross and Hurricane Katrina victims, and there will be no limit on the "bloggers helping bloggers" donation amounts this year. It is up to you to choose which charity (Komen or Red Cross) you wish to donate to — and what dollar amount you wish to donate to one, the other, or both. Watch this space for more information in the days to come!

ping this entry (pings added manually):
http://www.shutterblog.com/log/mt-tb.cgi/6

entries that ping-a-linged (updated manually):
1.  thon