Gustav Evacuees

It looks like Nashville is a major port of Evacuees of Hurricane Gustav. I was watching the news this morning, and saw that they were at a local church nearby so I jumped up and started finding toiletry items that could be useful. I had accumulated a large amount of Bath and Body works items to gift at holidays and last year I made my gifts so they were all leftover.

I was able to make up over 10 treat bags of lotions, bath gel, and mist. Then I wrapped them up in bags with easter egg grass which for some reason I had a large amount of. Put a bag on it and then gathered all of the deoderant and bar soap (that I don't use anymore) and put it in a bag. In addition to that I had sample sized lotions and soaps, so I put them in these bunny bags I had with a bow. And a large box of spongebob squarepants flips flops that I bought in a large lot.

I went by after church and was able to personally give out the toiletry items. The church was housing 55 people, and since it was feminine items, I just handed it out to the females. I had some left that I put in a place where other donated items were. It seems most donated items were food, and bottled water. There were a lot of kids. But I didn't have anything for kids. ..

I wonder if the Hurricane will do a lot of damage.

That was very nice of you!!! Its much appriciated I am sure!!

There will be damage. billions of dollars worth. He is a large storm. I feel most for Florida. They are catching hell from all sides this year.

Very nice of you pink.


I always have a bunch of toiletries on hand that I'm able to give away at a moment's notice, although I don't wrap them up all pretty like yours! lol

yeah well, the price we pay for what some think is paradise i suppose! lol

Colorado's lookin good right now

That was very sweet of you! I know that my aunt and uncle are waiting to hear if Mississippi gets hit and how bad. After Katrina, they went down there from TN to help rebuild. My aunt just came back up and then she heard about this storm.

After Katrina, a lot of the evacuees came up to Tinley Park, IL- they were housed only about 10 minutes from my work. My managers gave some nice discounts to the ones that came in to buy furniture. Usually a 10% discount and free set-up/delivery regardless of what they bought. Most had some left over money to be able to buy accessories like vases, lamps, pictures, throw pillows because of the discount and not having to pay the delivery fee (which is automatic $80 and up).

Oh Pink! What a blessing that will be to those women! Can you imagine, having to pack up all your stuff, not having room but knowing that what you leave behind could be destroyed. Driving for hours with your kids in the car, not knowing where you will end up, if you will be able to go back soon, or how you're going to afford it all. And then how nice it would feel to know that someone had thought of you, had made a gift just for you. That would mean the world to me! I have been thinking of boxing up a lot of the extra toiletries that I've been able to get for free or cheap after rebate. I'm sure some of the local churches will be caravaning supplies to the shelters as soon as it's clear where to send them. I think I will also try to wrap things up prettily and also look for some children's items. We don't have a lot to spare, but I can afford to do this.

I am certain every little thought, every little gift, is much appreciated. I cannot do a damn thing but watch on television and hope for the folks involved have visions of better days ahead. Thinking of you.

Karen, I think KY is one of the points for Evacuvees. So you may want to call the local red cross.

I wish I had stuff for the kids. I am going to look around for some coloring books, and maybe wrap up some crayons for them. I have so many of those rabbit bags ..

I just checked online and Lexington at least will have evacuees. I don't know if there are any closer. I've got to organize a bit and see what I can come up with, as well as how best to get it to them. I bought some of the size large Ziploc Big Bags, and those might be nice to hold care packages because they're pretty portable, and they can use them for other things when they get home.

Well, I had the kids (and their friends who were over visiting) help me get stuff ready and organized and we've got 14 of the size Large Big Bags loaded to where they barely close with a variety of items. My stockpile isn't completely barren, but it's pretty low, BUT there will be 14 families that will at least have some nice gifts to help them through this mess. Thank goodness the storm isn't as bad as we thought it was going to be, but even so, those families will be hurting from not working for a week, not to mention evacuation expenses. Most of what we put in was the basics (shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, razors, tissues, bandaids) but we also put in magazines, paper and pens, kid's books, makeup, nail polish, even hair dye. I had it handy and had either gotten it free or not paid much, and I kept thinking of the ladies I know who won't ever go out in public without fixing themselves up and how nice it would be to get a treat that might make them feel pretty or excited to try it out later (when they had better access to showers, LOL). The only thing I wish I could change was that all the makeup is for light-colored skin. It was stuff I'd bought for Caly and myself, and unfortunately I didn't have any nice treats for the black ladies. But, nail polish works with whatever skin color you have, so that's better than nothing.

What a wonderful gift of giving Karen. I am sure the women will appreciate the effort and the useful items you provided.