the power of one

When I look back on the first day I decided to take on this new direction in my life. Two things were very clear and have kept me on my path. The simple belief that people need help and that people have the need to help others. Simple as that. They may be friends, family or complete strangers. The fact remains that when a story touches a place in your heart, it makes it impossible to just sit back, we as human beings have to get involved. This is what I call, the power of one. One event to inspire one's involvement to create one change.

One, to me, is the largest number in the world. To me, it signifies a united bond. If we all join in to support a cause, this makes us one. One force that can conquer anything.

Every non-profit has it's challenges to attract support and get people involved. This is a factor I've been dealing with as I create my organization but again it all boils down to one. I feel a natural disaster has the ability to effect each and every one of us in our live time. If you haven't been a victim yourself, I'm sure you may know a neighbor, friend or family member that has been there. We all see the donation levels to the major organizations rise right after an event but what if we created a fund to research the reasons for the tragedies themselves before they happened? What if we could champion the costs and put an end to a tragedy before it happens? Better yet,, what it we created that fund in a cost effective way, making it affordable for everyone? Again,,, I call this the power of one.

Each One for US All will accept donations based on one. Here's an example. Say you make $35,000.00 a year. You can offer a donation of 1%. Meaning that your contribution would be $350.00 a year, less than a dollar a day.

That's just one example of a donation based on one. We plan to honor any donation based on one. One percent of a products profits, one month of pay, one day of pay, one nights proceeds from an event. It's amazing what can be accomplished based on one, I can't wait to see the creative approaches contributing one to be one.

DD

katrina,,, 4 years later

What are you're memories of 4 years ago?

I remember the news coverage showing people trapped in their attics, that was scary as hell. I thought, with all the advanced notice on the storm of storms coming, how was it that so many were still in their homes?

I remember being pounded with media coverage, showing grisly images capturing the reality of the flood waters.

I remember the kids down the street having a lemonade stand so they could send the proceeds to New Orleans. We all seemed to get how huge this was and how many were in need in the storm's area.

This was the worst natural disaster of our time, killing 1600 people. Today, the towns of New Orleans, Biloxi and many in between are still in tatters, like many others across our land waiting on assistance to rebuild and restart.

The reality of 4 years and still waiting kills me,,, how long can one put their life on hold?

Please see this attached link showing the efforts of non-profits and the affects of Katrina. So much work with still so much to be done.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/28/rebuildling.lower.ninth.ward/index.html?section=cnn_latest

DD

gaps in the system

Here's a link that I stumbled on today, the perfect example demonstrating the situation across our country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/us/28cedar.html

This is complete insanity!!! Unfortunately this is what we all have to deal with when it comes to a natural disaster. There is no good reason I could think of to have people go through this.
My heart goes out to all affected in Iowa. Sometime soon there will be a solution, a change so desperately needed.

DD

challenges??? bring it on.

In the past 2 days, I've spent time with 3 former colleagues from my past life in a different career. It was great seeing them, hearing their thoughts and talking about this new page in my life. This blog has been an awesome tool in respect to adding clarity in my approach for this new venture. I AM NOT A WRITER, things very rarely flow from my brain to my keyboard but this blog has forced me to concentrate on my thoughts so now talking about it has become that much easier. The talks I've had with these folks have inspired and reinforced why I'm doing this in the first place,,, thanks to everyone for their opinion and challenges, this has only made things better.

Forming a non-profit has one huge challenge different from forming a standard for profit business, acquiring the ever encompassing and brain racking 501(c)(3). This application form is enough to make most mortals run from the philanthropic hills and look to invest their time and money into a soft pretzel franchise. People familiar with this process have looked me square in the eye and asked "Do you really know what you're getting yourself into???" However, tax exemption is key to any public charity and luckily I have a great support team in a huge law firm doing lots of the work. They will process it for me when all my ducks are in their rows. One of the more difficult phases I am working on now to complete the application is building my Board of Directors. The Board must be established for completion of the application. This brings on it's own challenges but I am moving forward with the tools I feel will give me a better chance to attract the target Board members needed to make this venture a success.

Currently my website and logo are being developed, this has been exciting to say the least. The elements of each are so important to success of the overall feel for my venture. Tools that promote the image, values and function of this organization couldn't be more important to it's success. Seeing the website and logo concepts come to life adds a reality to all the work I've invested into this organization, one step closer to being real when I see them coming together. I am actually going back and forth with my designer as I type this to finalize my logo,,, can't wait to share it with the world.

DD

the plan

Experience and research has convinced me that we need a new way to deal with natural disasters in this country. Our government as well as the majority of all disaster relief organizations are reactive to events that occur almost everyday. This approach is absolutely needed when a disaster strikes however, a plan to reduce the effects or to eliminate the recurrence of events, prior to the events happening must be put in place. A new approach to disaster relief.

Each One for US All has combined the reactive and proactive approach to offer a complete service to those affected by a natural disaster, here is the plan.

To provided immediate funding for relief of victims. To supply immediate grants to cover unexpected costs for life’s basic necessities. Funding for food, shelter, security, equipment and work force to allow a cushion that will lessen the immediate effects of a natural disaster. We further dedicate our cause to continue the effort after the tragedy. To provide funding for education and finding solutions. Funding those solutions to alleviate or eliminate recurrence. To further discuss plans in place to reduce the effects of reoccurring disasters and to champion those projects without government intervention. To work with planners to provide resources to help in their efforts to rebuild smarter and faster. To monitor the ongoing events within our country to be proactive in providing our resources. To develop knowledge from past experiences and develop educational tools to help prepare for future events.

Like I mentioned earlier, a reactive approach is necessary, fact is, you can't fully predict what a town will need or the exact damage they may experience so monitoring daily events will give us the ability to reach out, determine the need and provide immediate funding. This gives the town the resources to provide for their citizens without dipping into their own coffers set aside for other things. This funding will always be needed as a reactive solution.

The proactive approach to me is a far more important need and the gap in our system. Towns across the country, much like the town I live in, know that some kind of disaster WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. Whether it's flooding, wildfires, tornadoes, mudslides,,,, pick a disaster, any disaster, there are ways to alleviate the effects. Whether it's to better prepare for the event such as building a new shelter or purchasing more buses to get people to the shelter. Or to build something to prevent the disaster, like a new dam or retaining wall, this will reduce the costs when the disaster happens and more importantly let people get back to the normalcy in their lives faster. In all cases and our ultimate goal will be to eliminate the recurrence.

As of today, there have been over 40 federally declared disasters in our country in 2009. Through FEMA, billions of dollars have been spent on clean-up and rebuilding efforts. FEMA's spending also covers, pre-disaster mitigation programs. These programs deal with prevention but tend to offer property buy-outs for open space. This happened in my town and 2 properties were purchased leaving holes in the neighborhood, one has been turned into a community garden. This approach also took away tax base from the town, leaving the rest of us to pick up the costs. FEMA will also pick up costs to retro-fit existing buildings and elevation of at risk buildings but the process is long. The research I've done with Emergency Managers across the country tells the same story of double and triple work to justify the funding and in some cases after all the work, they are still left without the funding. Three years after our last flood we, as a town, just received funding for 4 more homes along the river. Three years????? Also, in our current economic state and deficit at record levels,,, can we actually expect that the government will be able to provide this funding? Again, my research says no. Spending cuts will be forced on FEMA, leaving them to provide on a reactive basis as a government needs to but will reduce the plan for prevention or at least reduce the spending in that arena.

DD

let's catch up

If you've been following the blog, what you've seen is the inspiration for what I'm trying to accomplish. If this is your first time,,,, here's the gist.

I have had 3 first hand encounters with natural disasters, that is 3 floods in the town I live in within 18 months. I did my part to help the community, was inspired by the others in the community and I'm currently disillusioned with the support we all have in our communities within this great country to fight the recurrence of natural disasters. Believe me,,, I am not saying we can stop a tornado or a flood from happening. All I'm saying is that there are gaps in our structure in dealing with such recurrences.

We as a society deal with these situations on a reactive basis. I guess it goes back to the old theory, "Don't fix it if it ain't broken". Frankly,,, it all boils down to what side you're viewing from. I'm not taking away from those who lend a hand to help their fellow neighbor when they are in need. A flood hits, you jump in and work, the waters return to normal and your life goes on. I get it because I've lived that. What I'm saying is there's a need to look closer at the causes of the disasters themselves and do more to eliminate recurrences.

Take a look at this link - http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2008/01/17/archives/20080117-archivejrc-21.txt

An early warning system to the residents of the town. Speakers placed on telephone poles to warn us of the impending doom. I can tell you that I still live within this community and to this day almost 20 months later, there are no speakers, in fact, three years removed from the last flood, some people,,,,, have forgotten. Not the folks that were hit over and over again. Not the people who still haven't received the funding to elevate their homes. Believe me, these people are thinking about that river and canal differently than most every time they see them and although an early warning system may give folks enough time to bring their belongings to higher ground, a proposal to eliminate the recurrence of the flood would do more. Take a look at this article, I was shocked to find out about a proposal dating back to the 60's to eliminate recurrence but here it was being discussed again after the fact, as a reaction to the most recent problem.
http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2005/06/09/pennington_post/top%20stories/14666490.txt

This first hand encounter led me to dig a little about other towns. If we, this small river community in PA had a solution in place and no way to pay for it,,,, maybe we weren't alone. Maybe towns across our country are in the same boat. Solutions in place without a way to get them completed. Here's the gap in our system I've been referring to and I believe I have a solution.

DD

Dan,,, they're evacuating the town again

Those were the exact words as I pulled into the resort in Orlando, late June 2006. I took a deep breath,,,, the family just drove 17 hours and were looking for a little leg stretching time out of the confinements of the family van. We checked into the beautiful Caribe Royale and found our room. This was my families first 2 week vacation EVER and suddenly I'm faced with the reality of another major flood hitting Yardley now 1700 miles away.

In the back of my mind I kept thinking that maybe this wouldn't hit our portion of the town,,, maybe we'd be lucky like we were during the first hit a mere 18 months prior. I tried to relax, found the remote and flipped on the tube as the family browsed the resort to get a feel of our surroundings. Surfing the channels, I was drawn in by a familiar site on CNN. The reporter was standing on the end of Afton Road just 3 blocks from my house,,, the view of the Delaware in the background, running high and extremely fast wasn't new to me it was just something I had a hard time dealing with while on so called,,,,, vacation.

Keep in mind,,, this was late June 2006. Since the last flood of Yardley in April 2005, we all experienced the wrath of Hurricane Katrina and the reality of how a catastrophe could happen. Think about it,,, all the weather reports and radar and all the technology in the world told the people of New Orleans what was coming and still our federal government, local governments in New Orleans and Biloxi and the people as a whole weren't prepared. The storm, like many others before came, did it's business and left the government and anyone else who cared to pick up the pieces after the fact. Scared to death almost captures the emotions.

I kept receiving updates from friends and neighbors about the events going through Yardley as I made the best of the vacation. Truth is, I realized that with the town evacuated, there was nothing much to think about,,, when the town was let back in, I would know what was actually going on.

Day 3,,,, "Dan,,, the good news is that they have let us back in our homes,,,,, the bad news,,,,, sorry to say but there is about 4 feet of water in your basement again" That call came when I was in the China section of Epcot. Funny when I think about that, 1700 miles as well as half a world away from reality at the same time. We finished our visit and went back to the resort. I booked the first flight in the AM back to Yardley to do what I needed to do.

Arriving in town was the all to familiar site at this point, mud everywhere, personal belongings on the curb sides, Red Cross vans handing out water and sandwiches. Neighbors of mine were kind enough to start the pump in my basement so the water was just about gone when I arrived. Fact of the matter was that we were getting good at this around Yardley, we had our share of practice and we could get our surroundings water free and ready for power to be replaced with the workforce we developed, friends helping friends. The real scary thing is that the areas closer to the river and canal were virtually destroyed again. some of these folks now lost their homes 3 times in 18-20 months. How the government responded was even scarier.

Let me first say that FEMA did provide for the people who had flood insurance. In a flood plain you can't hold a mortgage without flood insurance and it covers belongings above the first floor and things in basements that belong in basements. Adjusters spent weeks in our town taking reports and checks were cut. That portion I can say went smoothly, as smooth as one could expect. However, being as this was the 3rd flood in our area, FEMA did what it usually does. FEMA started looking at properties to be purchased and turned into open space. And believe me, when you've been hit so severely in such a short period of time, the prospect of leaving sounds good, sure,,, pay for my property and I'll go to higher ground. Unfortunately, this brings on it's own problems to towns.

What kept troubling me in this whole process is, I saw the money that was going out to make repairs, I was reimbursed for basement items twice totaling more than I paid in premiums and my payout was small in comparison to an entire house full of belongings that some folks lost three times. I kept remembering the articles and the town meetings with the prospect of a solution to end the floods. This to me made so much more sense. I am sure the cost to prevent recurrence would cost less than paying out insurance claims every time this happened. And from the looks of things,,, it WILL happen again.

DD

the waters return

Just seven months after the the flood of 2004, the waters returned with a vengeance. This time the water level rose so high that the canal running through Yardley was breached, now forcing a new flow of destruction throughout the borough. Unlike the first flood, now my property and my immediate neighbors were suddenly victims,,, a total of 250 or so homes affected.

It is unnerving to say the least when you walk into 4 feet of water in your basement but I still considered myself to be one of the lucky ones, the folks who were originally hit just seven months ago were hit again, some losing their homes for the second time. I couldn't imagine the feelings they were going through, how this quaint river town had turned against them, leaving them to pick up the pieces twice in less than a year.

Again, the human spirit rose from the carnage. We all, as a neighborhood went to work for ourselves and for the ones we call friends. One neighbor rented a pump, the other purchased a generator, a purchase of a power washer and away we went. Lending ourselves to each other we created an unrelenting workforce going from home to home to ease the pain of the reality of our situation. Hard work never felt so rewarding, everyone doing their part to ensure we would get back to some sense of normalcy as soon as possible.

I remember the overhead shot in our local newspaper, the beautiful homes looking like tiny man made islands in the newly widened Delaware River. Shocking to see but it really gave you the true perspective of the power of mother nature. All of the local newspapers had their view but now the stories started to change. The big question on every one's mind was why. why was it that a hundred year flood zone was now hit twice in seven months?
Another big question was how can we stop this from happening? (http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2005/06/09/pennington_post/top%20stories/14666520.txt) The local politicians vowed their undying support expressing our plight to the Federal Government and promised the we would be taken care of, insurance claims would be paid and they would begin to rebuild houses. The waters again receded and lives in our little town went on. Not the same as it was before the tragedy but time as they say, heals all wounds. Still inside we all worried about the next time and what that would be like.

DD

true inspiration

Each One for US All was an inspiration that started from a personal experience. One day my town of Yardley, PA was hit by a pretty serious flood, affecting the areas of our town close to the banks of the Delaware River. This flood didn't actually affect any of my personal belongings but I was affected personally. First hand I saw the displacement of families, the wonderment of outsiders and how something so terrible could bring out something so inspiring,,, the core of what we are as human beings, the need to help others who are less fortunate.

My wife Jacqueline is a great person, some call her a saint based on her everyday activities at our daycare but bottom line, she is a great person. That one day in September she showed me how one person can change many by just offering to help.

During what was suppose to be her 40th Birthday bash, planned for months but falling just days after the flood, she couldn't just celebrate as others in our town were devastated. She decided to utilize her celebration as a central meeting place in our town to connect people, people in need and people who wanted to help. No technology, just a table on the corner of our street with a piece of paper, one side showing people's needs, the other, what people could offer. We purchased a roll of raffle tickets for a 50/50 and invited all to take their minds off of the flood, grab a bite to eat and connect with those eager to help. With amazement, a buzz was created and we found ourselves being bombarded with support and offerings to help those truly affected. People donated sofas from their living rooms, beds from guestrooms, televisions, appliances, toys, clothes,,,, the list went on and on, we crammed a garage donated by a local church and spread the word.

We spent night after night manning the garage as the donations poured in and townspeople picked from the items to get their lives back in order, a true testament of how we need to help others but more importantly, how we want to help others. The flood waters receded but the flood of human spirit grew and changed me forever.

DD

the journey

When you're inspired by something, you should go with it. When you're consumed with an idea you should make it real. I'm not one to live my life with regrets so I'm working on making a change. A change that is needed, a change for good.

A good friend and colleague suggested this blog to document my journey and I thank her again for pushing me in this direction.

This blog will be a running journal of my day to day experiences in making my change, my contribution, my hope for something better.

Each One for US All is a non-profit organization for disaster relief. My vision based on first hand events and the never ending need throughout this country for a new way to deal with these situations. As of today, I am still at the beginning phases of making this a reality. I am currently in the process of aquiring tax exempt status, building my board, figuring projections and working with a wonderful designer and writer to make clear my direction.

This is my journey and I welcome all along for the ride.

DD

P.S. Happy 8th Birthday to my Pumpkin Pie, Laurel Ann