The Tesla Community Helped Feed Over 150 Baton Rouge Families Affected By Hurricane Ida

[ad_1]

It was day two with no electricity when I sat with Mrs. Green, my landlady. We sat in the shade of her house across from her shop, Owens Deli, which has been a fixture in our neighborhood for over 80 years. In the days of segregation, her parents served the black community as a delicatessen and grocery store. The house next to it, in which one of my neighbors now lives, is the house in which she grew up. Her granddaughters grew up in the house behind that, where I live.

Special thanks to the Tesla Community @AustinTeslaClub @teslaownersSV from my friend Cynthia for helping with grocery shopping pic.twitter.com/5A8rDRpkX3

– Johnna Crider (@ JohnnaCrider1) September 3, 2021

This area is known as Valley Park and has seen its ups and downs over the years. At one end of the street is a drug-infested homeless camp that lives under the I-10 bridge that separates our street. At our end, an area that is on a hill, is Owens Deli, and behind us is an elementary school. In our part of the block there are mainly families with children and the elderly who Ms. Green looks after. She is known throughout the community for her kind heart and willingness to help others.

Twice a month she feeds the poor in our area. Sometimes it’s jambalaya and a piece of bread, sometimes gumbo or some kind of hot meal. Although her shop isn’t a grocery store these days, she runs a small catering business that was hit while Ida. The heat index value rose to 109 degrees that day. Gail of the Austin Tesla Owners Club called to check on me. I had no electricity, no internet and very patchy cell phone reception. The idea of ​​raising money to help Mrs. Green feed our neighbors was sparked by that call, and Gail offered to spread the word.

That’s what the community is about. https://t.co/rZ3FuYxxHz

– Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) September 11, 2021

Since I couldn’t go online, we decided to receive the donations through Malissa’s PayPal. Malissa is one of Mrs. Green’s daughters and helps run the family business. Gail asked how much we needed, and Mrs. Green and I looked uncertain. “Maybe $ 100, but $ 1,000 or even $ 2,000 would help a lot,” she said.

While dealing with spotty internet trying to get online for the next few hours, I tried to set up a GoFundMe but the app didn’t work. Malissa has Verizon, the only cellular operator to be affected by the communications outage that hit Baton Rouge when Ida arrived. Then John stepped in with Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley and offered to help set up a GoFundMe.

We also have 150 meals that we hand out along with the @teslaownersSV @AustinTeslaClub pic.twitter.com/efidgOF26I gift cards

– Johnna Crider (@ JohnnaCrider1) September 11, 2021

When I finally got power, I got messages from other members of the Tesla community who wanted to send me money directly. So we had two PayPals and a GoFundMe that people poured money into. Overall, I believe we raised over $ 8,000 for our community. The bulk of that went to GoFundMe and we were planning an event to be earlier today as I write this (11/9/21).

Funding raised $ 4,000 in Walmart gift cards for basic necessities, a hot meal, and cold water. The hot meal was served by Mrs. Green, who later told me that she hoped to get the place back to the way her parents had it – a grocery store.

Today we feed the neighbors and hand out gift cards for our community to take a break from Ida.

Thanks to the Tesla community for funding this @teslaownersSV @AustinTeslaClub $ tsla #Idaaftermath #idahurricane #LouisianaStrong pic.twitter.com/ezPd6h5qXY

– Johnna Crider (@ JohnnaCrider1) September 11, 2021

Most of the money I got went to the affected friends in the area. A friend’s house was destroyed, so I made sure she had money to buy food. Another friend had no food in her fridge so we met at the Albertsons and I told her to get what she needed. There were others I could help – and yes, I took care of my own needs as well. I filled my fridge with healthy food and helped out neighbors. When I saw a TikTok post from someone who was injured and needed help, I helped Venmo, Cashapped, and as many as I could. I may never meet her, but I know the pain of having nothing and not knowing where help will come from.

Louisiana always looks after itself, but we also help others. I remember when I was a kid and my mother, who was homeless, ended up in Shreveport. Strangers took us in, fed us and helped her find a job. For me, Louisiana has always shown kindness to those in need. Yes, we have both our good people and our bad people, but as Elon Musk once advised, I’m looking for the good. There is always more good than bad, no matter how visible the negative may feel.

The people of Louisiana are the toughest, friendliest, and strongest I know, and I think this is where I draw my own strength. We survive hurricanes, homelessness, extreme heat and other problems. We know how to come together, rebuild after disasters, and make it to the next day.

I think what most people in my area didn’t expect was help from members of the Tesla community. I shared the mission of the Tesla Owners Club programs, which are common in most states, to so many people today. Louisiana doesn’t have one yet, but hopefully one day.

Today I spoke to a headmistress at East Baton Rouge Parish who was staying with a family from LaPlace. LaPlace was one of the hardest hit cities that Ida practically destroyed. She had a special message for the Tesla community. If you notice the road behind her, there is debris from the storm. All of our streets are covered with rubble.

An East Baton Rouge Parish school principal left a message to the @Tesla community for helping Ida @AustinTeslaClub @teslaownersSV @WholeMarsBlog pic.twitter.com/FOVq4p60F1

– Johnna Crider (@ JohnnaCrider1) September 11, 2021

She described LaPlace and other areas hit by Ida as a war zone and stated that there was still no power. “We really appreciate everything you have done to move the community forward.”

You may remember Cole Davis from my other articles last year when we were trying to get ventilators into our hospitals at the start of the pandemic. Cole recently became a Tesla owner and stopped by to give the Tesla experience to some of Mrs. Green’s family. Malissa, their young son Brayden, and two other granddaughters, Ariel and Monica, were all able to share an incredible experience.

. @ COLEADAMDAVIS gives Malissa, their son Brayden and Monica the Tesla Performance Model 3 0-60 experience pic.twitter.com/BdbWq2np3k

– Johnna Crider (@ JohnnaCrider1) September 11, 2021

Malissa also had a special message for the Tesla community for helping our community through this difficult time. “Thank you for your donation. Everything you’ve done for the community; We were able to provide food and a gift voucher to over 150 people, so we appreciate you very much. Thanks for everything you’ve done. “

❤️ Malissa, you are very welcome ❤️ from all of us & we also thank so many from the #doge community who also helped spread the love 🐕 @itsALLrisky @dogeofficialceo @ gailalfa1 @elonmusk @Tesla

– Tesla owner Austin (@AustinTeslaClub) September 11, 2021

We ran out of hot meals around 1:00 p.m., but there were still a lot of gift cards so we gave them out to the people who came. The family plans to give away the rest of the gift cards and I told them to use the money for themselves too – after all, they’re a huge part of the community and you can’t help others if you don’t build yourself first. Fill your cup, then pour in. I am not sure if they will take my advice because they are the kind hearted souls who would give anything to those in need before they even think of themselves.

Do you value the originality of CleanTechnica? Consider becoming a CleanTechnica member, supporter, technician, or ambassador – or a patron on Patreon.

advertising

Do you have a tip for CleanTechnica, would you like to advertise or would you like to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk Podcast? Contact us here.

[ad_2]