Friends, neighbors, family- thank you so much for the generosity shown, the talent donated, the time shared.  Saturday night's benefit show at the Hi Tone (GOD BLESS YOU SKINNY) raised up $900 on the door, alone, and we're still totaling proceeds from the silent auction.  While we were preparing for this event- while bands were doing sound checks, back at home in Sherwood Forest the east side of the neighborhood lost power.  Again.  And everyone scrambled to save groceries and keep houses cool as HEELS took the stage.  Most of our neighbors couldn't make the show because they were managing yet another emergency.  Our fundraising has fallen short of our goal.    If you haven't made a donation yet, please consider doing so now.  If you have, please consider sharing this link for our fundraiser out to your network and ask for their help.  

The dust has settled since August 9, and demolition has begun for some, repairs for others.  Some of us are in the cue for roof repair and tree removals.  Things are happening on every block.  We still haven't heard from everyone who lost homes and vehicles, despite flyering and networking and searching for folks who had to move that day, some, whose landlords had relocation options and made things a little easier.  For the folks we have heard from, we have a total need of $48,000, and that replaces home content for one family, a truck for another, a sedan for another and a windshield for forth.  

With amounts in excess of the immediate need, we intended to establish a Sherwood Forestation Trust, which would be a flexible fund to be used to replant any original growth tree (the largest grove of trees in our neighborhood that compose a super impressive canopy) lost in our community, and help neighbors in a time of crisis with emergency housing and food.  This is still our long term plan, but in the absence of exceeding the need by Thursday, we will continue fundraising efforts and grant seeking throughout the year.   

One thing we've learned- despite so many hearts of gold and so much best intent, fundraising for emergency relief takes more time than emergencies can afford. UDistrict Memphis will spend the next year raising up a trust for emergencies that residents in any of our nine neighborhoods may access when they can't make ends meet during a crisis any other way, we will work towards doubling the size and enhancing the capabilities of our UD Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and next time Memphis has a hurricane and it picks our district as its favorite for destruction, we'll be ready.