I live in Las Vegas. This is my home.
Here are a few things that happened today:
- Thousands stood in line for 6-8+ hours to donate blood.
- Hundreds more donated water, snacks and shade.
- Locals gathered on Facebook to offer free housing, rides, and pet-sitting for victims and volunteers.
- Airlines donated free flights to victims’ family members.
- Hotels donated free rooms to people traveling to Vegas to help victims.
- Rideshare and taxi companies offered free transportation to blood donation centers and hospitals.
- Faith leaders from many religions held vigils and encouraged giving.
Love is stronger than fear. Good is more powerful than evil. Heroes are more numerous than villains.
Please be a hero. Here are three ways you can help:
#1: Support the Las Vegas victims’ fund, which will provide support to the families of the shooting victims.
The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund campaign on GoFundMe raised $1.8 million within less than a day. Many of these donations came in small ($5 – $25) increments from people who gave whatever they could.
#2: The emergency rooms in Las Vegas feel “like we were in a war zone,” one trauma surgeon said. Please send support to local hospital staff who are working tirelessly. Giving $5 or $10 from every person can create a tremendous impact.
#3: Finally, please support any other causes that are calling you. We live in a world in which 1 in 9 people don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. Around 1 in 3 people don’t have access to sanitation. These facts don’t make headlines. But they matter.
Thank you.
Kirsten
<3
Jeanine Z.
Thank you.
👫👭👬👩❤️👩💑👨❤️👨>🙅🙅♂️😡😤
Laura Abshire
Thank you for posting this and reminding everyone that giving to others in need is one of the best things we can do with our money and time.
Money Beagle
Thanks for posting. Stay strong and let the unity persist.
Judy Leaver
You’re the only person I know who lives in Las Vegas, and I wondered how you were. It’s painful hearing the news reports…and then we’ll see one that illustrates the love that’s stronger than fear. And thanks for the suggestions for how we can help.
Michael Williams
Thank you for taking a very different perspective of such a tragic event. Thank you for seeing such a high-level view of what is going on and not just one aspect. Thank you for making such a positive humanitarian post and not a political agenda monologue. Keep up the great work Paula. I enjoy your podcast . It is both educational and encouraging.
Paula Pant
Thank you, Michael. I’m committed to keeping Afford Anything as a politics-free zone, and I’m proud that the members of this community come from the entire spectrum of ideologies.
I love that there’s a space on the internet where we put those differences aside and unite over the ideas/goals/hopes that bind us together. 🙂
Rich Schmidt
Thank you for this, both here and on the podcast. And thank you for pointing us beyond the current crisis to other needs as well. I’m running the Chicago Marathon in 5 days with Team World Vision to raise money for clean water in Africa. You highlighted why. Thank you!
Bri Nelson
Amen. My thoughts are with your community. Paula thank you so so much for pointing out the love and good that springs forth from tragedy. You teach us more than just personal finance, but to strive to live lives of fulfillment and *positive* impact. Thank you!
Amy Rekart
I am an avid listener to your podcast, and I thought of you right away. Glad to know you are safe, and I am sending positive energy your way. Thank you for letting us know the great things people offered during this time of suffering and ways in which we can donate. Take care. <3
Anne
Glad you are OK, I’m also in the area and am fortunate that those I know who were there are safe- I hope you are able to say the same but know many are not. Our community has absolutely responded to this in an amazing and beautiful way, and hearing the stories of people helping one another and donation centers being overwhelmed are welcome reminders that the vast majority of people are good and full of love.
Angeline
I’m grateful you sent wrote this. I actually got it in an email and honestly I was somewhat stunned that it was here that it originated. Many people would say nothing, or at the very least incorporate it into a more ‘useful’ email, more like what they would write anyway, so as not to cause people to complain about spam. You didn’t do this. You knew it needed to be said and therefore you said it. End of story. It makes me so happy to see this coming from a ‘financial’ website, and heightens my respect for you greatly. Thanks, for this.
(P.S. I saw blood donations on crowdfunding websites. No qualms there but it reminded me that many blood donations ‘sites’ (hospitals set up in advance for non-emergency situations) are turning right around and selling the blood you donated. I just thought I should mention this because the red cross came to mind.)
David Loughnan
Powerful lines,
Love is stronger than fear. Good is more powerful than evil. Heroes are more numerous than villains.
Jan
I’m so grateful for the wonderful love of strangers who help others. It’s always amazing, no matter how horrible the crisis, how many people come out to help others.
Gratitude shown through offers of help and encouragement can literally change lives. Make a difference. Keep sharing the load.
Thank you for writing and sharing this message. People need to know that they can make a huge difference in the lives of others.
Paula Pant
“the wonderful love of strangers who help others” — That’s a beautiful line. 🙂
Thank you, Jan. 🙂