Every Dot Connects

The Every Dot Connects blog reaches many readers who are not located in Texas yet may want to help out in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. We have a way for you to do so. If you’re here in Texas, you can participate as well.

The Capital Area Food Bank located in Austin points out that every $5 donated to them directly allows them to provide $20 worth of assistance to those people it serves. This includes the very large number of Hurricane Ike victims as well as those they already serve.

The “Strike Back at Ike” ChipIn widget - located to the right side of this page in the Explore section - allows you to donate directly to the Food Bank without providing all of your personal information. Additionally you can easily add the widget to your own site. Read Connie’s post, on a special website created just for the purpose of raising money for the Food Bank, for more information. This is a quick and easy way to get some cash to the Food Bank they desperately need.

As you may be aware, the Food Bank shifted into disaster relief mode as evacuees fled the hurricane bearing down on the Texas Gulf coast. Many of them are now in Austin. In fact, over the weekend 6,500 people were housed in shelters here, with thousands more staying with family or friends or in area hotels. It may be four to six weeks before many of these people are able to return to their homes-or what is left of them-and many of them have already run out of money to provide for themselves.

In addition to distributing food to shelters, the Food Bank prepared 25-pound emergency food boxes for Hurricane Ike evacuees not staying in shelters. But on Monday afternoon at 2:00 donations were depleted and volunteers regretfully had to start turning people away.

We believe we can raise $5,000 in 5 days by spreading this ChipIn widget across our social networks. Please make whatever donation you can, and then tweet this, plurk it, put it on your Facebook profile, and email it to your friends. This is a small amount in the face of the enormous need, but every bit helps.

Remember, every $5 donation will provide $20 worth of nutritious food. A $25 donation provides $100 worth of food … okay, you can do the math.

IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION: WORDPRESS SERVICES

The individual or company that makes the largest donation through this ChipIn widget will have access to two hours of time for a WordPress installation, customization or training by Chel Wolverton, the very capable administrative assistant for Social Media Club. Upon completion of the ChipIn campaign, Chel will contact the winner to find out which of these services is preferred. The amount of your contribution will not be disclosed.

Your generosity will be greatly appreciated by thousands of people who have been uprooted from their homes and are trying to figure out where they go from here. On behalf of Social Media Club Austin and Austin 501 Tech Club, we thank you for helping us wind down our HAM-up efforts with a significant contribution to the Capital Area Food Bank.

Note: your gift through this ChipIn page is not tax-deductible. If you need a receipt for income tax purposes, you must donate directly to CAFB by check or major credit card. (They are not set up to receive donations via Paypal.)

More from Every Dot Connects

• Texas Social Media Awards
• Now Connecting the Dots for New Media Lab
• Hunger Is Unacceptable: Let’s do something about it!