As I write this, we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing – and the epic soundbite that Neil Armstrong delivered as he became the first person to set foot on the moon.
“That’s one small step for man . . . one giant leap for mankind.”
Change a couple of words, and you have an equally fitting description for how things frequently work in the disaster relief space – because in the world of compassionate logistics, it’s not unusual for one small gesture to yield huge humanitarian dividends.
There have been many times, for example, when:
- A professional association has helped ALAN make a key connection (like a phone or e-mail introduction) that has helped us fill a major last-minute request for something like the loan of a forklift – and enabled a food bank to more efficiently serve thousands of meals to the many hurricane survivors living in temporary shelters
- A warehousing company has agreed to provide a few thousand square feet of DC space so that a non-profit could accept a key donation of something like cleaning supplies (which are always sorely needed in areas that have been impacted by major storms) instead of having to turn the donation down due to lack of capacity
- A trucking company has said yes to transporting a load of walkers and wheelchairs on behalf of a humanitarian organization – and played a role in ensuring countless people in South America could have the gift of mobility
- A parcel carrier has volunteered to airlift 15 pallets of cholera and typhoid treatment kits to Africa – and helped protect numerous cyclone survivors from waterborne illnesses in the process
I could go on and on, because ALAN’s archives are full of countless success stories like this. But you probably get the idea: When the chips are down, a little bit of your capacity, money or equipment can help us help countless disaster survivors in a really big way – and change more lives for the better than you can possibly imagine.
Much like Armstrong’s final stride from spacecraft to lunar surface was far more than just a step, your in-kind or financial contributions to ALAN have the potential to become a giant leap in the ongoing battle to ease suffering.
Keep that in mind as you move through this hurricane season – and please consider helping us out with a financial contribution or by making a pre-offer.
We’d be over the moon to hear from you.
Kathy
