Publisher's Paw

Helping Flood Families: Day One of Donation Deliveries

11th May, 2010 - Posted by Heather Davis - No Comments

Desi, Panda & Bubba greet me inside the RV they are now living in, along with three other dogs and their guardians, Amanda and Lee DeForest of Madison. Their home was destroyed by the floods. PHOTO BY HEATHER DAVIS.

When I launched the Nashville Paw Magazine Flood Relief Donation Drive last week, I never dreamed that we’d receive such an incredible outpouring of donations, volunteer help and compassion from the greater Nashville Community.

In just four days, we have collected enough pet supplies to fill our 10×10 storage unit twice over. And donations are continuing to pour in.

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of the stores that have allowed us to place donation bins, as well as the many volunteers and donors involved in this effort. And I wanted to share with you our first day of deliveries, and one family’s story. To put a face to this disaster; to show you who your donations are helping.

This afternoon, I made our very first supply delivery to Amanda and Lee DeForest of Madison, TN. They have five dogs of their own as well as a foster dog through Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary. Their home was just one of many in their neighborhood that was totally destroyed during the floods, forcing all eight of them to live inside a cramped RV in their driveway (pictured here).

They have lost everything, and yet, today, I saw smiling faces and wagging tails… simple signs of gratitude for the bags of dog food, treats, toys, bedding, grooming supplies, leashes and bowls that I was able to deliver to them thanks to your generous contributions. It may not seem like much, but to a family who has lost it all, even the smallest gesture goes a long way toward rebuilding their life.

“We have needed dog food desperately,” said Amanda. “We appreciate this so much… it’s amazing how many people are willing to help. We are so thankful.”

What used to be the DeForest's home now lies in shambles along their curb. This is the scene throughout their neighborhood in Madison, TN. PHOTO BY HEATHER DAVIS.

The DeForest’s were just one of many families helped by the donation drive today.  In addition to delivering to individual families, we are also delivering to temporary shelters, as well as neighborhoods hit hard by the floods.

Thanks to help from volunteers, we delivered an SUV full of supplies to the Ed Rice Community Center in Memphis, which took in families and pets displaced by the flood. The supplies will help the 20 dogs, 20 cats and 8 birds staying at the center.

We also delivered an SUV full of supplies to Fairfield Church of Christ in Centerville, which has also functioned as a pet-friendly shelter, serving many families as well as 30 pets.

Tomorrow, we’ll be delivering several truckloads of pet supplies to residents in the Pennington Bend and Shelby Ave / East Nashville neighborhoods, as well as to Pennington Bend residents currently staying with pets at the Countryside Lodge on Music Valley.

And we won’t stop there. We will continue to collect and deliver supplies over the coming weeks to ensure that we help as many families as possible.

If your family or neighborhood is in need of pet supplies due to the floods, please click here to request help so we can get supplies to you.

And if you want to help, please visit our donation drive page to learn how to donate.

Thanks, Nashville. I’m proud to call this town home.

Just a small portion of the donations we have received in the past few days. These pet supplies are being delivered all across Middle TN and are helping families in need. PHOTO BY HEATHER DAVIS.