Support for our fellow members affected by Hurricane Harvey

We all know that a disaster strikes without warning and leaves a trail of destruction in its wake. Hurricane Harvey, is the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade and the damage that will leave behind is estimated at tens of billions of dollars, making it one of the costliest US natural disasters.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said that more than 450,000 people were expected to seek disaster assistance due to flooding.

While authorities still don’t know the full scope of the damage, because the weather conditions are still preventing emergency crews from getting into the hardest-hit place, one thing is sure: no one is thinking about the thousands of dollars that will be lost in home automation equipment, by our fellow community members.

While I strongly encourage you to make contributions to reputable local and national organizations, I would also like to point out, that our community is more than just a place where we offer “peer to peer” technical support, it is really a “virtual family”!

At this point we don’t really know how many folks from our forum are affected, but we are starting to see Harvey’s impact. Austin Pritchett ( @ajpri ) has shared some of his firsthand experience. As folks who are now stranded and in need of immediate assistance will start their recovering efforts, we will certainly hear more about Harvey’s aftermath. If you live or know someone in the community who lives in the disaster area, we would like to help!

We have created a GoFundMe campaign to specifically help a few of our fellow community members. Our goal is to collect $250 for each approved household that has a verified residential address in the affected area and who has been a SmartThings community forum member (https://community.smartthings.com) for at least a month.

The funds will be distributed in the order that applications are approved and based on the total amount of donations received. Any undisbursed funds will be donated to All Hands Volunteers Charity of Houston: https://www.hands.org


Click here if you’d like to contribute…

Stay safe!

PS many thanks to @tgauchat and others for ideas and support!

6 Likes

I’m sure some of these power users have some spare parts lying around right?

2 Likes

I’ll donate a wemo switch and a version one hue bridge.

Day 1 - update
image

2 Likes

Wow! Thank you very much to those that put this together. It means a lot to our family, being able to relieve some of the stress, since we have no insurance. The Texas Spirit is strong throughout this process!

4 Likes

ActionTiles will donate $5.00 for every License purchased using Coupon Code “STHRF-1+2” (through Sept 10, 2017).

Save $1 on your purchase while we contribute $5.00 to this Fund.

I will personally match all donations by ActionTiles (up to maximum of $1000).

8 Likes

Thank you very much for setting this up Bobby

Austin @ajpri and others, please have my regards.

4 Likes

I thought I’d share something I experienced today…

As I was walking into the Kroger store I work at, the song, “A Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga, was playing over the intercom. It made me think about the Super Bowl performance and just Houston as a city. Even going through the effects of Harvey, we are still united together. It made me tear up a bit.

3 Likes

FINAL UPDATE!

BIG THANK YOU to everyone who donated. To date, we have raised $400. Kudos to this community for their support and to SmartThings folks for allowing events like this to be posted.

Because GoFundMe service only allows one beneficiary, the proceeds will go to Austin Pritchett.

@ajpri I hope this will help you and your family a little to cope with the destruction that hurricane Harvey has caused.

4 Likes

Wow! Thank you very much! It means a lot and am blessed for this community.
Right now, we are currently in the process of getting companies to look at our roof and ceiling to make repairs. After an estimate performed this morning, it was discovered we have multiple spots of shingle damage, requiring half the roof to be replaced. In addition, my bedroom has a 4x3ft hole in the ceiling from water damage.

In addition, I will be making a donation to The Houston Food Bank under the SmartThings Community Developers name. They are a great charity that provides meals for those in need. When my scheduling allows it, I will also donate my time to help others out at the Food Bank.

4 Likes