My friends at Let’s Neighbor recently asked me to write about the Calgary Flood. While we are still in the midst of dealing with this natural disaster city-wide, a lot of good has come out of it. A stronger spirit of community, a bigger sense of the word neighbourhood and the importance of banding together during times of crisis.
Last week I spent three days organizing a flood relief fundraiser called Mission:Possible with some folks at the Mission Cliff Bungalow Community Association. We somehow pulled it off and ended up raising over $13,000 and giving out over 2,000 free hot meals to volunteers. We also ‘flooded’ the donation center with clothing and housewares from all of our generous neighbours wanting to help out everyone who lost everything in the flood. It was a beautiful day that I will never forget. I have never seen such generosity before. The comradeship was incredible and I hope this good energy sticks around the city for a long time to come. I have a feeling it will.
I have included some stunning and heart-breaking photographs from during the flood by my friend Andy van der Raadt. He has a beautifully sensitive eye and has captured this tough time with a ton of grace and…stillness.
If you are interested in assisting Calgary get back on it’s feet, I have rounded up a couple ways to do so.
- Donate to the Red Cross to help with immediate relief initiatives in Alberta’s affected areas
- Donate to the Calgary Arts Flood Rebuild. So many artists, musicians and arts organizations lost artwork, materials, instruments and revenue during this hard time – help rebuild this community at InvestYYC
- Support long-term community recovery efforts right in Calgary area by donating to the Calgary Foundation Rebuilding Fund.
Photos by Andy van der Raadt
