I know there are many things going on in the world for people to spend their time and money towards - helping with the oil spill in the gulf, donating to those that lost everything in the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chili, and a myriad of other issues happening around the globe.
Well, Alyssa Smith has now made that list for me. I have never met Alyssa. I didn't even know about her, until yesterday. Alyssa is a book editor for a large firm in New York - and I only came to find out about her, because I happen to follow a literary agent (Colleen Lindsay) on Twitter, that is friends with her.
While Alyssa was at work yesterday, she received a phone call from her landlord, saying that her house was on fire. By the time she made it home, there was literally nothing left. Unfortunately, her pets perished in the fire - along with all of her family heirlooms, her books, clothes, and furniture - it's all gone. Alyssa lived with a roommate, who also lost everything - and in addition to their apartment, both buildings on either side of their's, was a complete loss as well.
Initial reports assume that the fire started in the apartment directly below Alyssa's and spread from there. Several friends have posted various blogs and sites, to follow this story - and a PayPal account has been set up, to help her during this time:
News coverage here with video of the fire and the burned-out building - courtesy of a garden in riotous bloom blogger: http://rosefox.dreamwidth.org/1597560.html
Web site for Alyssa: http://helpforalyssa.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/5/
If there's anyway you can help Alyssa, even the smallest amount I'm sure would go a long way. Please follow the following link, to donate:
You can also follow Alyssa on Twitter: @booksandcorsets
I'm a firm believer in what goes around, comes around - so during this time when money is tight, I know that helping Alyssa is the right thing to do. I hope many of you might agree.
Thanks to all.