Have you ever helped a child complete a jigsaw puzzle?
After your child’s favorite puzzle is chosen, the pieces are dumped out of a box on the floor, and little fingers sift through the pile of pieces finding the “easy” ones. To a five year old the “easy” pieces are the ones with one straight edge and if you are real lucky you will quickly find four pieces with two straight edges.
With these straight pieces, the puzzle starts to take shape when all four sides are connected and complete. Next, the picture starts to come to life as the middle pieces complete the image on the box by working from the edges to fill in the center.
As with most of the puzzles in my 5 year olds collection, as we get closer to finishing the puzzle sometimes we are a few pieces short. This is very disappointing and we are left with two options. Either give up and put the puzzle away or look everywhere for the missing pieces to make the puzzle whole.
I see a community, after a natural disaster, as similar to a five year old’s jigsaw puzzle - Do you see it?
Whether it is flood waters, tornado type winds or rushing wildfires, natural disasters can leave communities in pieces with its members trying to piece their lives back together. Like the sides of a puzzle, the community leaders, relief organizations and volunteers start to organize and determine how to help clean-up, collect and distribute basic necessities to help rebuild the community. At this point there are a lot of outsiders, the edges of the puzzle, making decisions trying to bring the community together again. The new community (volunteers, citizens impacted and relief workers) comes together to create a community - post disaster.
Just like when my son finds a missing puzzle piece under the sofa, broken because the dog used it as a chew toy, a little glue and tape can repair the puzzle piece stronger and slightly different but it still fits. The new community, similar to the completed puzzle, will never be the same but will become stronger, have new friends and will share stories of their experience.
Please share the Natural Disaster Relief Organizations you like to support on the One Donation Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter accounts. Be sure to include hyperlinks to all of the sites listed
If you have any comments about the blog or questions for the One Donation team please send a message to founders(at)onedonation.org.
Looking for a list of nonprofits seeking your help in 2017?
Use the link below, answer a short survey and our team will send you 3 nonprofits tailored to your responses.
We can help you make it easy for your company and your employees achieve your community support goals. Click here to request more information.