$1,000 goes directly to victims of Cat 4 storm

Hurricane Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast in late August as a Category 4 storm, wreaking devastation as it slowly chewed its way north. After the winds settled, my wife and I brainstormed on how we could help, and we decided to hold a special print sale — and raised $1,000 that is being used right now to help those most in need.

For the live Hurricane Ida Benefit Print Sale held on my Facebook fan page, I selected 21 of my favorite prints hanging on the walls of my studio and home, with 50% of all sales going to the Louisiana Southern Baptist Disaster Relief efforts.

It was a resounding success. In fact, I sold two prints even before going live, with two of my collectors making purchases as part of an advanced sneak peak for those who have purchased my work in the past.

All told, we sold nine prints! That meant more than $880 was raised for hurricane relief efforts. We were blown away!

My wife and I kicked in, rounding the total to $1,000 that will be used directly to help those devastated by Hurricane Ida. None of this money is used for administration: It all goes on the ground to provide needed services such as food and water, shower trailers, full-service drop-off laundry services, and prepping homes for rebuild.

The Louisiana Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is a group of volunteers from all over the country. It is an organization near and dear to us, as we have worked with them in the past on other disasters and seen the amazing work they do.

The need in the wake of Hurricane Ida remains great. As I write, there are still those who do not have power almost a month after the winds subsided. And some Southeast Louisiana communities saw a majority of homes damaged. It will take years for the region to fully recover.

If you would like to kick in and help, I encourage you to click over to the Louisiana Southern Baptist Relief website and contribute. I promise the money will be well spent!