Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

In case you missed it, Monday (9/1/17) I wrote a post on how you can help in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Since then, wildfires have covered Montana, Washington, Oregon, and other areas in the West, and Hurricane Irma has become a Catagory 5 hurricane and is headed toward Florida while bashing the Carribean.

The need for us to band together and do good is even greater and I am grateful to the authors who have already taken on the #UpliftingAuthors challenge.

Kaki Olsen is offering donations in exchange for editing ($1 per 5 pages), Spanish translation ($10 per 10 pages), one hour of development/sounding-board writing assistance ($3). (more info pending)

Keith D Guernsey has donated $40 to disaster relief.

Becca McCulloch is donating royalties this month to All Hands. She has also made these handy memes to share on social media:

• https://imgflip.com/i/1vbxsf
• https://imgflip.com/i/1vby2b

We are looking for you to join too, whether you are an author, a reader, and/or just an all around nice person.

How You Can Participate

Between now and September 30, we are looking at raising $1000 for various charities. So far, we are at $40. (I’ll try to update this daily). See below for more details of how to join the challenge.

If You Are An Author

1. Follow the #UpliftingAuthor hashtag on social media
2. Make a pledge to donate (please let us know the organization so others can support a great cause)
   • Pledges can be offering services for donations, a portion of royalties, a simple dollar amount, or whatever creative idea you come up with
3. Let people know you are participating by writing a blog post, using the #UpliftingAuthors hashtag on social media, and any other method you want to share
4. Invite other authors to join the challenge
5. Please let me know if you are participating. You can do so by any of the following methods:
   • Make a comment
   • Email me at lpalmer@lpalmerchronicles.com
   • Tag me on Facebook or Twitter
   • Use the #UpliftingAuthors I would like to do a blog post later this week with a list of authors so we can help each other do good.

If You Are A Reader And/Or All Around Nice Person

1. Support one of the authors supporting causes by buying one of their books
2. Donate your own money
   • If you announce your donation on social media or in a comment on this blog and use the #UpliftingAuthors hashtag, I will do a write-a-thon of 100 words for every $1 pledged. I invite other authors to join this write-a-thon.
3. Invite your friends, families, and everyone you know to participate and share this challenge.

Suggested Organizations For Donations

With the growing need across the country, I am leaving what region and organization you donate to up to you. There are plenty of places and people needing help today.

Here are just a few great organizations (or lists of organizations) working hard to help those in need:

• Local to San Antonio and supporting Southeast Texas
• National organizations (and a few local organizations)
• Habitat For Humanity (They are going to rebuild a lot of what has been lost)
  • Houston Chapter
• Salvation Army (Also doing a lot of restoration)
• LDS Charities (Provides support to volunteers and other organizations on the ground)
• UMCOR.com (Charity arm of United Methodist Church)
• Catholic Charities

If you know of more organizations, please comment and I will add them to the list.

I live in San Antonio, TX, so I will be focusing my donations on local organizations supporting Houston relief and rebuilding efforts. Here’s a sample of what the department I work for in San Antonio (Solid Waste Management) is doing. I am very proud of my colleagues who are out there working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to help the citizens of Houston. I am sure there are other great public servants who work for government agencies and nonprofits who are working just as hard.

http://abc13.com/video/embed/?pid=2375127

I hope everyone and their loved ones are safe and I thank you again for your kindness and generosity for others. As more authors join the challenge, I will add them to this post.

Participating Authors:

• L. Palmer (Me)
• Kaki Olsen
• Keith D Guernsey
• Becca McCulloch

Generous Sponsors

• I look forward to adding your name here.