Thursday Hurricane News Bit – generators and foster homes from Jacksonville, FL
Miscanimals / news / public good5 Comments
Bad news is hitting us from all directions but these two articles are a little bit of sunshine. Yeah, so that’s a weak take on the “Sunshine State” motto. But wow, these Jacksonville people are amazing.
250 animals scooped up by foster families – Generous Jacksonville, FL people empty local shelter ahead of Hurricane Dorian.
Many may know storm troopers as Darth Vader’s white-clad lackeys with horrible aim, but to Florida’s Jacksonville Humane Society (JHS), Storm Troopers are heroes.
Storm Troopers are what the shelter calls the amazing volunteers who open their homes to the JHS’s adoptable cats and dogs when dangerous weather threatens the shelter.
“The JHS Storm Trooper program allows families to bring home dogs, cats and kittens for sleepovers during severe weather. Families serve as ‘Storm Troopers’ and host one of our adoptable dogs or cats for a temporary sleepover. This is a great opportunity for our pets to be with a family inside a warm home instead of in a shelter kennel during the winds and rain,” the shelter said of the program on their website.
The shelter also gets valuable information about the animals from the foster families which can help find the animals forever homes. Many of them end up being adopted by the fosterers or by friends and families. Win!
Stunning act of generosity – “A man walked into a Costco in Florida …” sounds like the opening of a lame joke but this man’s actions serve as a reminder to us all to give when we see a need.
A man walked into a Costco in Florida and left with 100 generators, all of which are heading to The Bahamas. His receipt read $49,285.70 and most of that came from paying $450 a pop for 100 generators. Peas, beans, coffee, salt, pepper and other essentials made up the rest of his mega purchase from a Costco in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday.
All of it is going to those in need on the hard-hit islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, he said.
“About 100 generators and a truck load of food and chainsaws are all going over by boat on Thursday to Marsh Harbour in The Bahamas. It’s terrible and I’m sure you’ve seen the photos,” a farmer from Jacksonville told CNN on Wednesday.
Yes, I’ve seen the photos and it’s enough to make you cry.
The man wishes not to be named. He said he doesn’t want the attention and would rather that people focus on helping those affected by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas.
“It’s important that we help each other out. It’s better than just sitting there,” he said. “You see a need and you fill it.”
I’m sure some reporter will end up publishing the man’s name but for now, let’s just concentrate on what he said here.
And then there’s this guy.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-man-parks-car-kitchen-concerned-it-would-blow-away-n1049676
But when your car is the size of a motorized hot tub …
I’m not a big fan of billionaire romances, but somehow the super rich manage to keep turning up in my reads. I would like wealthy characters a whole lot more if authors built gestures like the true to life one in your “Stunning Act of Generosity” article above. I’d like to believe that life is inclined to imitate art. Then fictional generosity might stimulate greater philanthropic response to desperate need more often.
Thanks for these uplifting articles.
@Mzcue: That’s a good point regarding the stunning acts of generosity, but it would have to be handled carefully in a novel so as not to come across as saccharine. I have that issue sometimes with the historical heroines who do charity work and are friendly with their servants.
@Janine: Yes. Like the super wealthy historical romance families that uniquely made their money outside the slave trade. The more the record is being set straight, the more difficult it is to suspend disbelief. As it should be.
@Mzcue: Yes. I can understand it, though. It’s hard to make a hero out of someone who has a hand in the slave trade.
@Jayne: I have not been following the news but I hope everyone has their power back on by now.