Ways to help Camp Casey

[Boomer]

theHandpuppet, a DUer who spent this last weekend at Camp Casey, sent me this list of items that she felt would help support the amazing, hard-working volunteers at Peace House and Camp Casey:

1) Phone cards - many people at the camp don't have cell phones and their budgets have been strained by an extended stay away from home. Phone cards would help them stay in touch with family.

2) Beef jerky - the vegan meals at the Peace House are delicious, make no mistake, but some people are desperate for meat. :9 theHandpuppet took a large bag of jerky for snaking and it was empty in hours.

3) A night or even an hour at a hotel - sanitation facilities are limited, and some of the people who have been camped out on the ground for days would probably appreciate the chance to use someone's hotel just to take a shower. An entire night in AC would be heaven.

So, for anyone who may have the deep pockets to afford such a gift, consider renting a cheap hotel room for some volunteers. There are three hotels on the south side of Waco that are especially convenient in terms of distance from Crawford: Comfort Inn, Budget Inn, and Holiday Inn Express.

theHandpuppet stayed at the Budget Inn ($40/night), so we can vouch for that one as a cheap but safe and clean lodging.

4) theHandpuppet also mentioned the need for small bunches of flowers for the crosses... but that was before they were all mowed down. I hated having to tell her about what happened (she isn't getting much news while on the road) and she was very upset, most especially for the emotional toll it would have on the volunteers who were working so hard at that site.

[lildreamer316]

1. DON"T FORGET YOUR AAA DISCOUNTS!!

just wanted to make sure all remember....
and AARP??
Travel miles=hotel discounts?
Let's pool our resources.

[Iris]

2. Do they need insect repellent?

I keep thinking ditche = mosquitos.

[Boomer]

4. Only if there's water in it

Honestly, I don't know whether insects are a problem or not. Black flies, mosquitos, chiggers?

Are there an DUers who can shed some light on that aspect of camp life?

[bananas]

7. fire ants have been mentioned in many posts

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=democraticunderground.com+fire+ants

[Boomer]

11. That's pretty much a given in Texas

But I don't think there's any handy remedy beyond simply getting away from them.

Texas is also home to every type of poisonous snake in North America, but hopefully Camp Casey has made enough of a sustained commotion to shoo them varmints away to the next county.

[Iris]

27. Yeah, the old "their more afraid of us then we are of them"!

[theHandpuppet]

28. Welll, now that I'm back...

I would highly recommend NOT wearing sandals, or if you do, at least wear a pair of thick socks with them. You're not going to the beach, and bare feet are a surefire invitation to fire ants, chiggers and mosquitoes (there are lots of them). The last I checked there was plenty of insect repellant but of course anyone who goes down should consider bringing their own supply. Also bring your own rain poncho -- storms can come up very suddenly and there's not much in the way of cover out at Camp Casey.

[GOPisEvil]

3. Remember, one can always call the Peace House and ask what they need

on any particular day. No sense bringing things off a list that might be old. My advice is call the night before you go, ask them what they need, tell them what you're bringing so that they don't end up with too much of some things and a shortage of others.

www.crawfordpeacehouse.org

[Boomer]

5. This is by no means an official request of items

But it is based on theHandpuppet's observations from this past Saturday and Sunday.

[GOPisEvil]

6. Oh, I know. And from what I observed Thursday, that is a good list.

But there might be a need for something that just pops up, so I'd still call, just in case. :)

[Stuckinthebush]

8. The Peace House is vegan?

How cool is that?

They just made me even more proud of them!

[bananas]

12. Cindy is vegetarian

according to the tail end of this post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4360892
Ithaca Mothers/First Report from Crawford
<snip>
When we got back in the shuttle that would take us
back to the peace house, we met Mary. Mary and her husband have owned an
Italian restaurant in Waco for over 30 years and their families have been
in the area for hundreds of years. They had heard that Cindy was a
vegetarian and brought her their special whole wheat crust vegetarian
pizza. It turns out that Mary has a son in law in Iraq and her son is in
basic training for the Marine Corps. Now I understood better why Mary
was so overwhelmed by the site of the crosses along the road.

[LeftyMom]

29. that rocks

Wow, if there's anything that makes me more dissapointed that I can't go vegan meals I don't have to cook myself would be pretty darn high on the list.

[Boomer]

9. Important Postscript

theHandpuppet was just in awe of the volunteers, and she repeated over and over again what an incredible amount of dedication and selflessness they were bringing to their work.

Some of them were spending 10 and 12 hours days just preparing food in the kitchen, others hauling trash, or driving the shuttles back and forth all day long plus paying for gas out of their own pockets. These are not the "glamour" jobs, and these workers won't show up in interviews, but they are an essential and valued support system for those people who are dealing with the media.

theHandpuppet's only concern is that these long, grueling days will simply burn people out. Which is why she's been trying to think of any way to provide them with some small creature comforts to buffer the strain.

So for those of us who can't attend, but wish we could, let's pick some item, some task, and "pitch in" from a distance!

[lildreamer316]

10. What would be most helpful?

I'm drawing a blank (blonde); do help.

[Boomer]

13. Honestly? Cash.

As I mentioned in an earlier post on this same subject, the donations of supplies have been very generous. But in the sustained chaos of dealing with sooo many visitors and situations, being able to simply hand someone a wad of bills and say "Go buy this" is invaluable.

Also, for every person who arrives, the cost of AC and food goes up.

Peace House accepts PayPal, so don't hesitate to simply send them a donation: http://www.crawfordpeacehouse.org

[catnhatnh]

18. OK....

...I'm in-cash it is....Bless all there..

[Arkansas Granny]

24. Sending cash sounds like a good option to me.

Supplies are nice if you know exactly what is needed, but with cash they have more flexibility to get things that are in short supply. The PayPal link is good.

[Boomer]

26. Crawford has rather limited business options

So for most supplies the volunteers actually have to go to another town. So you can imagine the layer of effort and expense that adds to even the most modest shopping list.

[bananas]

15. Nominating this thread would help

I think I'm the only one so far.

[Boomer]

16. Thanks!

[lildreamer316]

17. DUh. I'm an idiot.

It's done.

[bananas]

19. That's two votes, we need one more!

[Spike from MN]

22. Done. n/t

[Dora]

14. Buy your phone cards at Costco for $20.

700 minutes is a lot of talk time for twenty dollars.

[zalinda]

20. Any one work at Costco?

Maybe we could get a discount if buying a large amount of cards.

BTW, Cindy is getting contributions from as far away as Italy. Listen to the Mike Malloy's last night show. A guy there said tons of things are rolling in.

zalinda

[Dora]

21. Costco sells bundled 12-packs I think

But the cards have 120 minutes on them.

Perhaps an email to Costco's corporate headquarters would net some donated cards....

[mopinko]

23. GO HERE TO DONATE!!!!

the crawford peace house website has ways to help. like donating to the pizza fund at the local pizza joint. also has paypal link.

http://crawfordpeace.nfshost.com/

[Boomer]

25. kick

:kick: