Denham Springs Relief Fund

Denham Springs, Louisiana, United States

$6,970

Amount Raised

About this Fundraiser

It's not unusual to get a little rain every day in the intense heat of Louisiana's summer. But this time it wasn't just a little rain to cool things off. On August 12th, in Southern Louisiana, the rain started, and it didn't stop. Four trillion gallons of water in just two days. Experts are calling it the 1,000-year storm, as its caused more devastation than Hurricane Katrina back in August of 2005.

13 lives lost.
40,000 homes flooded.
It would take 6,000,000 Olympic swimming pools to hold the amount of rain water.

Let that sink in.

When I hear numbers like that, it seems impossible to make a difference. It's so devastating that my mind has difficulty even holding onto it. It's easier to shut it out and move on with my daily routine. How could I make any difference at all?

But this time I know how I can help. Maybe I can't rebuild 40,000 homes, or plan funerals for the 13 loved ones that passed, but together we can make a life-changing impact for at least 100 of the people impacted by this storm.

See, my dad is a pastor of a small church in Denham Springs; however, there isn't a church building anymore, and most of the people who attend the church are without homes. I have never felt so close to the suffering after a natural disaster as I am now. These people are hurting - oh, so deeply. Many were evacuated multiple times before ever finding safety. Some sat for hours atop their roofs, hoping to be rescued before the rising water washed them away entirely. And these aren't stories I heard on the news. These are people I know and love - people that have done life with my parents for over a decade. It doesn't need to be said that they're devastated, scared, and uncertain about what the future holds.

Though we cannot physically deliver them food or supplies or rebuild their homes, we can certainly send money to those who can. My parents' home was spared from the flood, therefore providing them a unique and very special opportunity to pastor in a way like never before. Being a leader is one thing, but being with others in a tragedy by leading them through the shock, the grief, and the recovery ... that is quite a calling. It's a calling that I fully believe my parents, along with several other people in the church, have been uniquely chosen and entrusted to do.

Will you help me help them help others? Let's call it a help train. An assembly line of hope.

Please join me, and one of my closest friends, Darci, who has so generously jumped on board to advocate for these beloved people. We believe that with good communication and fervent prayer, we can raise $100,000 by October. This money will go directly to rebuilding the church, as well as fund individual needs (most did not have flood insurance). Knowing so many want to help but don't know how, you now have an onramp to provide for a community that is suffering and needs hope.