HOW YOU CAN HELP HARVEY VICTIMS

We at ProSellus have been hit very hard this past week and ½ with Hurricane Harvey. Most of you might not realize we are headquartered smack dab in the middle of Houston, TX. All of our employees are here, families and friends here, and each of us was affected by the hurricane in one way or the other. Most of our days lately have been filled with clean-up efforts, ripping out drywall, floors, grabbing personal items and trying to salvage clothes and anything else not destroyed. We have been volunteering in neighborhoods, at our places of worship, comforting one another, friends and strangers alike. Mostly though, it’s been about coming together as human beings and as Texans. It’s been about spreading love, support and encouragement. It’s been about rolling our sleeves up and jumping in to do whatever needs to be done. It’s also about being kind to one another and feeling a sense of brotherhood around us similar to what folks in New Orleans for Katrina or NYC for 9/11 must have experienced. For us around here, it renews hope and promise that we as human beings in the worst possible scenarios tend to work together more than apart. The walls come down and we become one. It’s quite remarkable really.

Over the past few days, our team has personally seen some pretty remarkable things done by regular folks. To share just a few – this was a video of complete strangers making human chain to rescue an elderly man from a drowning SUV on the flooded highway. Pretty chilling and amazing to see. If you are one of those that worries about the animals – this video of rescuers picking up those pets left behind in homes and tied to trees is pretty heartwarming. All of this is in our backyard of Houston. These are only TWO of hundreds upon hundreds of similar stories – all of which we will see coming out more and more in the upcoming months.

PHOTOS OF HARVEY

TEXAS BASED BUSINESSES LEAD THE EFFORTS

Just as we are proud of our local Texan citizens, we couldn’t be prouder at the Texas-born businesses that are going far and wide to help support the victims. We in Houston and the surrounding areas affected need help and we will need help for a good long while. The Texas burger-chain Whataburger is giving $150,000 to the Red Cross and $500,000 to Houston-area food banks. Dell has been around for decades and has become a global brand of choice in the computer industry. Recognizing the need to help its local community, Michael Dell pledged a whopping $36 million to assist his fellow Texans. Bass Pro Shops is focused on supply resources as their primary contribution to the hurricane relief. This includes nearly 100 boats for government agencies and rescue organizations to use throughout the devastated areas. Sometimes, even a single individual can make the biggest impact. Jim McIngvale, a Houston native and owner of several Gallery Furniture locations in the area, has opened up his stores as shelters for impacted Families. Our own JJ Watt has opened up a fund and already raised over $20M. Our Texas-based Grocery Chain HEB had local stores devastated by the flood – check out what they did to keep the chain up and running and for their employees. Here are a few other companies you may have heard of that are donating to Harvey victims.

TIPS FOR HOW YOU CAN HELP:

We have made a LOT of progress over these 4-5 days of recovery, however we have a LONG way to go. We at ProSellus want to spread the word on how to help victims of Hurricane Harvey.

• CNN published article on how to help
• Guide to Donating for Harvey

GIVE LOCALLY AND MAXIMIZE IMPACT FASTER:

Even better? Donate your time/materials/proceeds to Houston area local charities:

• Houston Animal Rescue Efforts Fund
• Texas Wildlife Rehab Center Fund
• Star of Hope (for Homeless Shelters in Houston)
• Houston Food Bank  
• Other Local Charities
• Or to make it easy you can just buy this cool t-shirt  

As always beware of charity scams – here is a good article on how to know who is legit.

AFTER THE STORM, WE SHALL RISE

Remember, our recovery efforts are a marathon, not a sprint. If you cannot donate now, donate later – we will need all and for a long time. At ProSellus, we plan to donate to several organizations listed above to help ensure that we are all on the same page: that as long as we are here on earth, we must help each other in order to survive. No one should be alone, especially in times of need.  

We are #Houstonstrong and come #hellorhighwater – we will survive through this.