The above photo was captured by Sarah Peats (@SarahPeats1 on Twitter). She was born and raised in Northern Alberta. Her tweet reads: “Praying I have a home to go back to. Fire isn’t over officials say the worst is yet to come. #FortMcMurrayStrong” This was one of the many tweets I came across that compelled me to write this blog post.
Hey everyone,
I was going to publish my usual post about beauty products. However, I had some things on my mind that I wanted to share, following the catastrophic events in the news. (If you’re not interested and want your usual daily dose of nail polish, check out my social media. I will still post a manicure on there later today.)
While I don’t live in Alberta, which is in a state of emergency, I am Canadian, and it hit me hard to learn about the raging wildfire in Fort McMurray.
The countless images and videos I’ve seen of the Fort McMurray fire sent shivers up my spine. All the flames and smoke remind me of what I envision hell to look like.
Many families have had to evacuate their homes, knowing that they may have nothing but rubble and soot to return to afterwards. *Sigh* I can’t even imagine how that feels. It’s the province’s largest evacuation of over 70,000 people.
If you’re an evacuee:
Families and individuals evacuated from #ymmfire please call @RedCrossAB toll-free at 1-888-350-6070 to register or inquire.
— Red Cross Alberta (@RedCrossAB) May 4, 2016
Forget about your opinion on the oil industry, politics, and climate change for a second. Don’t even add insult to injury to the people who have been torn from their homes by making snarky and distasteful remarks. Sadly, I’ve seen a bunch of these social-media posts.
Remember that people are being ripped from their homes and the things most precious to them. They’ve had to abandon the things that have made their house a home. They’ll have to rebuild their lives, not just their homes. Think about that.
At the time of writing this, so far, there have been no fatalities, which is amazing and something to be truly grateful for! Also, some women have gone into labour while being stuck in traffic during all of this!
Through any catastrophe, there’s always a beacon of light, and we shouldn’t ignore it because it breathes hope back into humanity.
Sometimes, it takes the worst situations to remind us of the best in people.
I am thankful for all the firefighters and emergency first responders who risk their lives daily to help the rest of us feel safe. I am also inspired by the numerous volunteers who so generously give their valuable time to help others in need.
The full extent of the Fort McMurray fire probably hasn’t been realized just yet, and the community will have to rebuild from the ground up when it’s all over.
The rest of this post includes additional information for how to contribute to the Fort McMurray Fire Relief Support.
How to Help with Fort McMurray Fire Relief Support
Donation to the Canadian Red Cross via the Website
To help them get back on their feet faster and also to help with the immediate relief support, I strongly urge you to give what you can and donate to the Canadian Red Cross. They have an official Alberta Fires Appeal where your contribution can make a huge difference, whether you donate $5, $5,000, or anything else.
The Canadian Red Cross’ website accepts donations via credit card or PayPal, and you don’t have to be a Canadian to contribute. (There’s a drop-down menu, so you can select your country of residence.)
The Alberta government will be matching dollar-for-dollar donations made to the Canadian Red Cross for Fort McMurray.
According to Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Canadian government will not only provide future assistance, but will also match charitable donations to the Canadian Red Cross for Fort McMurray.
#Alberta gov't will match dollar-for-dollar donations made @redcrosscanada for #FortMcMurray. #ymmfire #FortMacFire
— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) May 4, 2016
BREAKING: Gov't of #Canada to match charitable donations to @redcrosscanada #ymmfire #fortmacfire #redcross https://t.co/3MbU1QMMtP
— Patrick Morrell (@PatMorrell_CBC) May 5, 2016
Donation to the Canadian Red Cross via a Text Message
Another way you can donate money to the Fort McMurray fire relief support is by taking a few seconds to send a text on your phone:
Text FIRES to 45678 to donate $10 to @redcrosscanada’s Alberta Fires Emergency Appeal #ymmfire
— Bell (@Bell) May 4, 2016
Partnering with Red Cross to help those impacted by Fort McMurray fires. You can donate $10 to Red Cross by texting redcross to 45678.
— Fido (@Fidomobile) May 4, 2016
You can donate by texting redcross to 45678 (a $10 donation) or 30333 (a $5 donation). #FortMacFire
— Rogers (@Rogers) May 4, 2016
Help support @redcrosscanada’s relief efforts in Fort Mac by texting REDCROSS to 45678 to make a $10 donation. #YMMfire
— TELUS (@TELUS) May 4, 2016
To donate $10 to @redcrosscanada’s Alberta Fires Emergency Appeal, please text FIRES to 45678. #YMMfire #ABfire
— WIND Mobile (@WINDmobile) May 4, 2016
Please connect with your loved ones in Fort McMurray. All calls and texts to and from the area are free until May 17th #FortMacFire #ymmfire
— Koodo (@koodo) May 4, 2016
Donating Items to the Edmonton Emergency Relief Services
If you aren’t able to give money, but would like to drop off diapers, new toiletries, etc., that’s also helpful.
Edmonton Emergency Relief Services is accepting diapers, baby wipes, new toiletries, NEW socks & underwear at 10255 104th Street #ymmfire
— City of Edmonton (@CityofEdmonton) May 4, 2016
I’m also really happy to see more support and awareness being raised:
The @Oil_Foundation on behalf of #Oilers Entertainment Group is donating $100k to @redcrosscanada to support #FortMacFire relief efforts.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 4, 2016
The @FlamesFdn has donated $100,000 to the @redcrosscanada #FortMacFire relief efforts ~ https://t.co/5oC3tHYqie pic.twitter.com/m9xuEL7BBe
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) May 4, 2016
We’re donating $100,000 to Red Cross to help those affected by the Fort McMurray fires. #FortMacFire
— Rogers (@Rogers) May 4, 2016
Pet Valu is donating $100k to help #fortmacfire recovery efforts. We're also collecting donations for @redcrosscanada & @FMSPCA in store.
— Pet Valu (@petvalu) May 4, 2016
If you’ve read this far, thank you for your attention, and I hope that you will contribute to the Fort McMurray relief efforts in some way.
Below is one of the many tweets that compelled to write this post and encourage others to help in this great time of need:
Praying I have a home to go back to. Fire isn't over officials say the worst is yet to come. #FortMcMurrayStrong pic.twitter.com/CxB1r4lCtR
— sarah peats (@SarahPeats1) May 4, 2016
It’s a very sad and scary situation. I’m Canadian as well (far from Alberta) but I want to support the families going through these hard times. Thanks for sharing these links!
http://www.makeupisdelish.com
Hey Ms Meatballhead!
If I were in the same situation as those families, I would pray that people would donate and try to help me during an emergency. That’s why I ramped up my donation to a higher amount. I can go without buying makeup and nail polish for a while, but these families need help surviving. I know which one’s more important!
Thanks for checking out this post, even though it strays from my usual topics. I just couldn’t bring myself to publish a regular review on a nail polish when I had all these thoughts of more important things on my mind.
Feel free to share the donation links and encourage others to donate. The families can use all the assistance we can provide!
My best friend lives in Fort McMurray, she’s currently stuck at one of the camps north of the city. I feel so bad for her, she has no idea if her home is okay, she feels trapped and she’s scared because the other camps are being evacuated but not hers. She said that everything she’s been hearing is hearsay and she’s not sure what’s true and no information is really being given. I’ll feel so much better when she finally gets to Edmonton though I’d prefer if she came back to Toronto and put some major distance between her and the wildfires.
Hey Katrina!
Oh my gosh – that’s horrible! I bet you are terribly worried about your friend, but have faith. There are many people donating to the relief efforts, and the firefighters are working tirelessly to douse the flames. I hope and pray that the people from Fort McMurray will be okay and that the help will be enough to reduce the destruction.
Hmm, I wonder why her camp isn’t being evacuated. Maybe they’re going in order from the one that’s the closest to the threat to the farthest. I don’t know. Whatever the case is, I hope that she’ll be safe and that people will give her accurate information.
Keep in touch with her during this time. The most you can do now is to try to keep her calm. One thing’s for sure, all the people going through this are hella brave and will bounce back like warriors! *Hug*
I’m an American, but I want to help. I’ll make my donation today and spread the word about how to help. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who is having to deal with this tragedy.
Hey Melissa!
This makes me so happy! Thank you so much for your donation and your support!
The people from Fort McMurray need all the help they can get to rebuild their community. It will take a long time before things will be running smoothly, but starting and pushing through will be the great challenge.