A little happy during so much sad

I’m surrounded by stories of sadness and recovery in Joplin, Missouri. I work in a newsroom that is not in Joplin, but close enough that there are so many people in my town who are personally connected to this natural disaster. I am helping coordinate some of the relief efforts through social media and it’s exhausting and emotionally taxing.

Yesterday was a little moment of happy. Jordan graduated from preschool and it was very sweet. Her classmates (all five others) sang two songs and got diplomas while wearing their own handmade graduation caps. It was pretty darn sweet.

Tonight my newsroom is teaming up with a local chapter of the United Way to raise money for a relief fund that is sending 100% of the donated funds to Joplin. That means the organization will not take any of the donated funds to pay for administrative costs. I’m honored to be quietly helping them out… but I want to loudly broadcast a telethon we’re holding tonight. You can watch it between 7 and 8pm CDT. Just visit the KOMU.com streaming page. Learn a little bit about it here.

Also – I posted a request on the Facebook page and I’ll post it here too. In Joplin tomorrow, a woman is going to get married. She lost everything in the tornado but she survived and so did her fiance. So they’re getting married no matter what. I have a friend whose mom is helping with the wedding and they’ve reached out to see if anyone can help donated money or gift cards to help the bride rebuild. The wedding has everything it needs, but they don’t have “things.” I was told everything and anything is welcome. If you can help, please email me: jen [at] bornjustright [dot] com.