As many of you know I have just come back from spending almost 2 months in the New Orleans area working with the American Red Cross. This experience has drastically affected my life in many ways. \r\n\r\nThere was nothing that I could do to prepare for this experience. I packed all the items the Red Cross told me to pack; flashlights, a sleeping bag, aspirin, even extra toilet paper! However, what I was not prepared to experience was the level of anguish and deep emotional pain I felt while down there. \r\n\r\nDuring my stay in New Orleans I witnessed many things. I saw large fishing boats high up in the trees, barges on land, houses that had been completely covered in water, and even spots where beautiful houses once stood, but now, just rubble. Even though these things are devastating, you become used to seeing them on a daily basis. However there are many things that you never get used to, things that tear your heart open every time they happen.\r\n\r\nOne such event was when 3 volunteers and I were doing mobile feeding on the west side of New Orleans. Around mid afternoon while I was preparing a meal the driver immediately slammed on the brakes. He jumped out of the truck, yelled to me to follow and we ran to a woman that was lying in the middle of the road. She was not just lying but having a seizure! She stopped after about 10 seconds and we helped her to the side of the road. The woman was with her daughter and she told us that it was their first time seeing their house after the storm. Everything was gone. I looked deep into the daughters eyes as she told me this and she looked into mine and my eyes began to well up with tears. My heart sank as I realized what it might be like to no longer have any physical belongings. Everything that I took for granted like my house, car, even the sweatshirt I was wearing that was keeping me warm could be gone in an instant. The people down in Louisiana that I became friend s with and love deeply are experiencing this right now. Many of them are still living in tents and sleeping on cots. \r\n\r\nDuring the second month of my stay, I did feeding outside a Vietnamese church in a large Vietnamese community. This community has about 4-5 thousand Vietnamese people living there and many of them do not know English. I consider myself blessed to have worked with these people because they are the kindest and most wonderful people I have ever met. However, they need our help too. On one particularly cold and windy day that I worked, there was a long line of people waiting to receive a meal. At one point, a young man who was about 16 years old came up to the window asking for a meal. On his upper body he had only a t-shirt on and I could see the goose bumps running up and down his arms. I asked him where his jacket was and he looked at me as if he was embarrassed to tell me. I knew that he had no jacket to put on. \r\n\r\nThere are many people just like this person in New Orleans that need many things. One of the things they need is blankets. As the news media begins to focus on other events happening in the world, we tend to forget about the help that is still needed in Louisiana. \r\n\r\nI am part of an organization called Blanket New Orleans. This organization was established to collect financial contributions that go directly to the purchase of cotton blankets for families in the 9th Ward area. This was one of the hardest hit areas of New Orleans. Our goal is to raise $1,000 to be able to buy 100 blankets for the people in this area. \r\n\r\nPlease give what you can. \r\n\r\nSincerely, \r\nTodd Kuslikis