tornado relief

On Sunday, devastating tornadoes went through central IL.  

Central IL is my home, and though all disasters break my heart, this one has been especially difficult.  Thankfully, my hometown was spared.  Normal experienced a lot of wind damage (e.g., trees and electrical poles down), but that is nothing compared to the devastation in Washington and Pekin.  

When we moved back from AL (where I was born), we lived in Peoria, IL.  My first memories are from there.  My grandfather, great aunt, and other extended family still live in the Peoria/Pekin/Washington area.  I know a teacher that works for the high school in Washington.

Maybe that's why this is tugging at my heart so much.  Maybe it's strange that hearing about this hurts my heart more than hearing about the tornadoes in Joplin and OK.  Maybe it's normal.  I don't know.

All I know is, I felt compelled to do SOMETHING.

So I bought a shirt - from hopefully a reliable place that will actually get the money to the Peoria Red Cross, like they claimed.
So I donated a monetary gift through my university.  I LOVE that they are taking collections to donate directly to the Peoria United Way.
So I will be donating cat and dog food to the drive at school because my heart is BREAKING for the animals.  Dan says my priorities are messed up, but I don't think so.  I can't imagine losing everything in a tornado, but losing my irreplaceable dog would make the whole ordeal 100xs worse.
So I will be donating some school supplies to my home parish, as they are collecting for a catholic school in Washington.

It isn't much.  But it's what I can do to try and help.  I encourage you all to see what you can do.