As Sherry and I discussed on this week’s podcast, we’ve both been deeply affected by the devastation Hurricane Maria has left across Puerto Rico. It’s hard to imagine this kind of suffering anywhere, but having visited the island just a few months ago to celebrate our ten-year anniversary, seeing its people and places in crisis is especially painful.
The media has shown the scale of the emergency: widespread loss of electricity, contaminated or unavailable clean water, shortages of fuel and phone service, and scarcity of food. A friend whose husband works with FEMA recently returned from the island and was struck by how difficult the path to recovery will be, largely because of the lack of reliable power. Hospitals can only run so long on generators, and with fuel scarce they’re having to postpone critical surgeries and face medicines expiring because refrigeration isn’t available. He estimated that children might not return to school for up to a year. The human impact is staggering.
Early last week we made a donation to feel like we were doing something to help, but we still worried each night that it wasn’t enough. So we reached out by email to companies we’ve worked with recently—podcast sponsors, design collaborators, and others—to ask if they would consider donating as well. We weren’t sure what to expect, and given many organizations were already involved with Hurricane Harvey and Irma relief, we tried to keep our expectations modest.
We’re both thrilled and humbled to share that we’ve raised $12,000 so far. All donations were directed to relief efforts through United for Puerto Rico, and we are profoundly grateful to the companies that stepped up immediately with support:
DAP Products | Shades of Light | The Annie Selke Co. | HANDy Paint | Sabrina Soto | Delta Faucet
Universal Furniture | Cardboard Safari | Grove Collaborative | West Elm | Wohven T-Shirt Subscription
*Many companies we contacted were already donating through other channels, so if a name isn’t listed it doesn’t mean they aren’t helping.
If you’d like to help as well, you can donate to United for Puerto Rico. Even a small contribution from many people can add up to a meaningful, potentially lifesaving difference for families across the island.
Thanks, everyone. <3