One Civic Act

There was a fire yesterday, just a few blocks from my house. While firefighters were able to knock it down relatively quickly, the property itself is a total loss. I don’t know the residents. Today, I donated to a GoFundMe to support the residents , who lost pretty much everything. I don’t know them, but they’re in the community and they need help.

Villa Cañona is a community in Puerto Rico which was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and María. It’s still recovering. Today, I made a donation to a project called “ Loíza FE: Futuro de Energia para Villa Cañona .” The project will provide solar panels, battery storage and water purification in Villa Cañona.

There was a bizarre fire in Somerville on October 28. A car parked in a driveway between two houses blew up spontaneously, spreading flames to neighboring buildings. Three students from the East Somerville Community School lost their homes. Today, I donated to a GoFundMe for the family of those children.

World Central Kitchen recently announced a nother $2 million commitment to run its “Plow to Plate” program in Puerto Rico, where I’m currently on vacation, through 2023 . Plow to Plate supports smallholder farmers and businesses with grants, to increase food security and sustainability in Puerto Rico. It also runs an   agro-tourism volunteer program   to connect visitors with farmers and food businesses around the island. All this to continue to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria. Today, I made another donation to World Central Kitchen to help with Plow to Plate. I saw several World Central Kitchen stickers around the island over the past week, as well as a few folks with World Central Kitchen shirts. I’m glad to see the continuing presence of the aid effort.

Hurricane Maria was a year and a half ago. It was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane in 15 years. Much of Puerto Rico is still trying to recover. We’re on vacation this week and chose to come to Puerto Rico specifically to direct our tourist dollars where they’ll do some good, too. To be sure, this isn’t a service trip. But we’ll try to do so simple things to support local businesses. Like the barber shop I visited in San Juan today, instead of getting my hair cut back in Somerville before I got on a plane. Today, I also made a donation to a Hurricane Relief fund operated by All Hearts and Hands , which arranges service trips for people to help with recovery.

This has been a record-setting year for wildfires in California . The Camp Fire in the Sierra foothills alone has killed 23 people and displaced thousands. Add in the fires currently burning in Southern California and the disruption to people’s lives in California’s population centers is immense. Today, I made a donation to the California Fire Foundation’s SAVE program , which distributes emergency short-term financial assistance to fire victims. They’re going to have a busy year.

T-Mobile  is supporting military veteran-led Team Rubicon’s hurricane recovery efforts. Florence and Michael were big ones this year. The mobile phone carrier is pledging $5,000 per home run hit in this baseball postseason, plus $1 per Twitter or Instagram post using #HR4HR. Today, I added to that total. In the end, over $5.1 million was raised. You helped make this happen! $5.1M goes a long way in disaster relief. https://t.co/gOk4N0EJdj — Team Rubicon (@TeamRubicon) October 29, 2018  

I wrote last week about the natural gas infrastructure explosions across the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Everyone is finally back in their homes, but most won’t have gas for another three months. Today, I made a donation to a Gofundme project that will buy and distribute induction cooktops to Lawrence residents. Induction cooktops are much more efficient than resistance electric cooktops, and they behave like gas cookstoves, so they’re just a much better option.

Hurricane Florence is battering the Carolinas and beyond right now. The rain continues and floodwaters are still rising so there’s more misery and tragedy to come. Today, I made a donation to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Florence relief. It was my first use of text donations, for what it’s worth, through T Mobile.

Yesterday, there was a series of some 60 house fires and at least 3 explosions in the city of Lawrence, just 25 miles North of Somerville. This was due in some way to the gas infrastructure, though it’s still entirely clear what happened. Hundreds if not thousands of families have been evacuated as power was shut off to entire neighborhoods. Today, I made a donation to the Lawrence Emergency Fund, which is being operated by the  Essex County Community Foundation . I’ll see if there’s more I can do in the days to come.

Yesterday, I tornado touched down in central Massachusetts. According to the Boston Globe , it was third twister to hit Massachusetts within a 10-day stretch. “That may seem like an alarming statistic,” says the Globe. “But so far this year, tornado activity in the state is roughly in line with historical trends.” That’s no consolation to the 43 people displaced by the Saturday tornado in Webster and the Main Street businesses that were pummeled. Today, I donated to a Gofundme campaign for one of the victims. There were at least four other campaigns created to support other victims of the storm.

I had the pleasure of meeting chef Jose Andres two months ago at a conference. He’s a nice man and a dynamic speaker who brings passion to his desire to use his platform to spur social enterprise and cultural connection. It’s all the more poignant to read about his efforts in supporting hurricane relief in Houston and Puerto Rico. Indeed, the ability of chef’s to mobilize food supplies and prepare food in bulk and under pressure can contribute to aid in the right circumstances. José Andrés is amazing. Really impressed by what he’s accomplished. https://t.co/Qj4qgolKRc — Larry Yu (@laryu) October 30, 2017 Today, I donated to his World Central Kitchen , because I believe not only in its mission to mobilize a network of chefs to empower people in health, education, jobs and social enterprise, but also in its ability to actually carry out that mission on a meaningful scale.

I’ve made several small donations for Hurricane relief, in Houston and Puerto Rico. I’ll never be able to give enough to make a real difference. But I can’t not stay involved. Today, I donated to the One America Appeal for Hurricane Relief. This is the campaign that is supported by former Presidents Carter, Bush (pere), Clinton, Bush (fils) and Obama. And the proceeds will support efforts to recover from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria – Texas, Florida and the Caribbean.

Natural disasters are having a banner year in the US. Three hurricanes have ravaged Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, among others. And the wildfires in California have wrecked both the north and the south, but particularly Sonoma and Napa counties. I know the regions are known for posh wineries but you have to understand that the city of Santa Rosa is basically gone. That’s a city of 175,000 people. Today, I donated to the North Bay Fire Relief Fund , operated by Redwood Community Credit Fund, which will distribute relief among four Northern California counties.

I made three small donations for Hurricane Harvey relief in Houston, in August and September. Houston is on the mend, although it will be a long and expensive road. The tragedy taking place in Puerto Rico, however, is still unfolding over a week after Hurricane Maria left an “ apocalyptic ” scene. There is still no power and no infrastructure across the entire island. “Sometimes we don’t know what’s going to happen until the storm actually hits,” said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan , who has been sent to Puerto Rico as a liaison for the military’s contribution to rebuilding. “And this is the worst I’ve ever seen.” Today, I made a donation to the  Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico fund , organized by the State of Massachusetts and the Boston Foundation. “The money gathered will be distributed for relief and reconstruction of the island of Puerto Rico and to respond to the substantial migration of Puerto Ricans who will arrive in Boston and th...

Actually, I’ve never been to Texas. Can you believe that? But that doesn’t mean I can’t support a city that’s struggling to recover from the most devastating hurricane in US history. I made a donation a week ago. Today, I attended my friend Devin’s fundraiser, called  I Left My Heart in Texas . He and his sister “donated” their birthdays to raise funds for Texas.

Hurricane Irma is barreling toward Florida right now. But Houston is still assessing just how long and how hard its recovery from Hurricane Harvey will be. Some say the total price tag will top Hurricane Katrina’s record-setting $108 billion. Today, I donated to the Greater Houston Community Foundation , through my friend Devin’s “I left my heart in Texas” fundraiser . He’s donating his birthday celebration to raise funds for Houston’s recover.

Hurricane Harvey is now being described as a 1-in-800-years event. I made a small donation to the American Red Cross on Friday. Today, I doubled it. Recovery is expected to cost more than that from Hurricane Katrina. My contribution might be insignificant but it’s not meaningless.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Hurricane Harvey changed from tropical depression to tropical storm to Category 4 hurricane. And it’s due to make landfall today in Southeastern Texas as the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental US in over decade. Some meteorologists estimate 35″+ of rain for some areas, because the storm is expected to stall along the coast. While the wind will be powerful and will probably spawn tornados, the flooding could ultimately cause more damage. Today, I donated to the Red Cross of Central and South Texas . They’re going to need every bit of help they can get. [ Edit: This apparently did not post properly on Friday, August 25. Sorry about that. ]