Room in a Box

ABOUT ROOM IN A BOX...

 

Room in a Box began as a simple idea to help my cousin, whose High River (Alberta) home was destroyed by the unprecidented flooding in June 2013.  The idea was to help her by putting everything she would need, room by room, into a storage tote and store it for her, so that she would have it when she moved back home.  I asked other family members to help me by choosing a room to put into a box (Kitchen, Bedroom, etc.). The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are so many of us who want to help High River, but didn't know how, and so I started  "Room in a Box". 

 

Room in a Box is a simple way to help the people of High RIver and it works like this: Fill a tote (plastic storage container) with NEW items for a specific room according to the lists posted under the "Lists" section on this website. Please, NO clothes, NO toys and NO furniture (High River has received an over abundance of clothes and toys, and furniture is too large to store right now ... but hold onto it, as these families will need furniture when they are able to move into interim housing).

 

When filling a box, get your friends, family, community, social groups and church involved! The more, the better! We have so many families that will need boxes in the months to come!! Once your box is completed, you can take it to one of two Calgary locations, or our Airdrie drop location.  From there, I will pick up the boxes and take them to High River.

 

One thought kept haunting me.  Imagine, as the families slowly start to move back into their remediated/rebuilt homes (this will take months, if not years), they will walk through the doors of their homes that echo with emptiness.  They will have to begin to replace all the items they lost in the flooding.  The thought of this brings me to tears.  They finally get home, but their home is empty!  Room in a Box is our way to say "Welcome Home!". 

 

On a personal note, these people are facing the most staggering losses I've ever seen. Homes coded "red" will mean that the homeowners had to throw out almost everything they own due to mold. It's hard to imagine! We take for granted everything we have, these people are coming away with very little, if anything.   The biggest fear of most High River resdients is that they will be forgotten.  Let's show them that we will not forget!  Please, help me help them.
I appreciate everything you're doing, and continuing to do, to help. Thank you.

 

Blessings to all,

Tamara