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Post-Hurricane Christmas
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A lot of people in Texas are still hurting from Hurricane Ike, three months later. And in communities full of debris and FEMA trailers, it might not look or feel much like the Christmas season. But hurricane relief can take an unexpected form, when generous people understand and spread the true spirit of the season. Reed Galin reports. |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: Emory, Texas)Among the things Hurricane Ike took from people on the Texas coast were their Christmas ornaments. Small things...
“Isn’t that cute, I love Winnie the Pooh.”
...leave a big void.
Jill Krone, Emory United Methodist Church: “When you lose this it’s been likened to losing your family pictures.”
Jill Krone’s family suffered a flood 13 years ago.
Jill Krone: “This is our house right here. I've been there, and I know how difficult it can be.”
After Ike, Jill came down with a relief team from her church, Emory United Methodist in north Texas, and remembered what Christmas was like for her family after the flood.
Jill Krone: “This wasn’t debris out on the curb, this was their lives.”
Shopper: “We had a lot of ornaments that the kids made years ago. And they’re all gone.”
So Jill Krone and the Emory Church began collecting.
Jill Krone: “Initially we were thinking a few thousand ornaments would be wonderful.”
She contacted other Texas congregations. It multiplied.
Jill Krone: “Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida, Michigan, New York State…”
Twenty five thousand ornaments and all sorts of decorations were collected for giveaways near Galveston and here in Port Arthur.
Shopper: “That is just too cute, cute, cute!”
Scottie Berg, Ornament Recipient: “They’re helping so many families find their new normal.”
But “normal” isn’t even in sight for recipients like Sara Vines.
“Thank you.”
The Vines lost their house in Hurricane Rita three years ago. Ike wiped them out again.
Sara Vines, Ornament Recipient: “Everything that had sentimental value is completely gone.”
They brought donated decorations back to a tiny temporary apartment, and the Vines family went to work.
Sara Vines: “This looks more like what our tree would have looked like.”
They don’t know where the gifts came from. But, in future Decembers these ornaments will symbolize new family memories.
Sara Vines: “I feel like I own this tree now, this is my tree now.”
TAG:
Hundreds of displaced families took ornaments and decorations back to their motels, FEMA trailers, temporary apartments and relatives' homes—and there were enough left over for still more people to share with friends and neighbors.
For more information, contact Jill Krone at Emory United Methodist Church in Texas at 903-473-2411.
Posted: Dec. 17, 2008