+
upworthy
More

Why one city is looking for the kids who sent messages of support after Katrina, 10 years later.

10 years ago, Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed Kim Bergeron's hometown of Slidell, Louisiana.

Slidell, Louisiana, 16 days after Hurricane Katrina. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.


"We took a direct hit," Bergeron, a local relief worker, told Upworthy.

With nearly all of the city's buildings devastated or in disrepair, relief workers clustered into the only municipal building that was still functioning. They slept on cots in hallways, used makeshift showers that were nothing but a curtain and a hose, and ate thrown-together meals served outside in a tent.

"We were there 24/7," Bergeron said. "Many of the employees had lost their homes and couldn't go home."

But the worst wasn't over.

"When we heard [Hurricane] Rita was in the gulf, spirits just plummeted," Bergeron recalled. "To be quite honest, many people just lost it. We didn't know what to do. We didn't know how to act. It was just more than we could handle.

"And that's when we got these cards."

The cards arrived in a box from a group of schoolchildren in Massachusetts.

For the demoralized relief workers of Slidell, they changed everything.

Photo by Kim Bergeron.

"It was just like sunshine in the middle of all this darkness and despair," Bergeron said.

"It was just what we needed."

Though they were only a small gesture, the cards gave Bergeron and her colleagues the strength to go on rebuilding, despite the dark clouds on the horizon.

10 years later, Bergeron decided it was time to write those kids a thank-you note.

She doesn't know who they are or what school they were from, but she wants them to know what an incredible impact their cards had.

Photo by Kim Bergeron.

"I would love nothing more than for those kids, now teenagers I'm sure, to recognize what a difference they made," she told Upworthy.

"For the people who received this, it was much-needed medicine at a time when it was really, really needed."

Photo by Kim Bergeron.

Here's her letter of gratitude:

Dear Schoolchildren of Massachusetts,

It's been nearly ten years since we received the box of cards that you sent us following Hurricane Katrina. I know that you're not quite so little anymore—some of you may be in high school, perhaps some have graduated. But this message is sent with the intent of letting you know what you, as elementary school students, did for our city's first responders when you sent your well wishes.

Photo by Kim Bergeron.

I'm not sure how or why you selected our little city of Slidell instead of one of the larger cities to receive your gift of hope. Perhaps your teacher knew that Slidell was the Louisiana city hardest hit by the storm. Or perhaps she was from a small city herself, and knew that the majority of relief efforts would be channeled through larger, metropolitan areas. Or perhaps we just got lucky.

Photo by Kim Bergeron.

Now, here's what you may not know: on the day your box of cards arrived in the only City of Slidell complex that was not destroyed by Katrina, we had just learned that Hurricane Rita was in the gulf and it, too, was headed our way. We were still pretty much in shock from living in the movie-of-the-week that was the aftermath of Katrina. Panic set in. Spirits plummeted. And we didn't know how or if we could deal with another hurricane.

Then your box arrived. And for the moments we spent perusing your cards, we were enveloped by the love with which they were created. And it helped.

Photo by Kim Bergeron.

We taped your cards on the doors and walls of our office, and they helped ease the stress with which we were dealing, and that which was still to come.


You gave us sunshine in the midst of darkness. And for that we are grateful.


My only regret is that, ten years later, I cannot recall from which school these were sent, so I could send you a personal thank you note, yet again, to let you know how much your cards saved all of us.


It is my hopes that you see this message, and you know that your kindness is still remembered a decade later.


The cards continue to inspire Bergeron and her colleagues to help those in need to this day.

When Hurricane Sandy struck the U.S. East Coast in 2012, Bergeron and a colleague organized a relief effort called The Train of Hope for Sandy Relief, which included a card drive. For the 10th anniversary of Katrina and Rita this year, she's hosting an auction to support local Habitat for Humanity rebuilding efforts in the region.

In the meantime, Bergeron hopes to focus on the positive and remind people that when disaster strikes, even the smallest gesture of kindness can make a difference.

"Even little things become big things," she said.

Photo by Kim Bergeron.

Community

How to end hunger, according to the people who face it daily

Here’s what people facing food insecurity want you to know about solving the hunger problem in America

True

Even though America is the world’s wealthiest nation, about 1 in 6 of our neighbors turned to food banks and community programs in order to feed themselves and their families last year. Think about it: More than 9 million children faced hunger in 2021 (1 in 8 children).

In order to solve a problem, we must first understand it. Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, released its second annual Elevating Voices: Insights Report and turned to the experts—people experiencing hunger—to find out how this issue can be solved once and for all.

Here are the four most important things people facing hunger want you to know.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pets

Family brings home the wrong dog from daycare until their cats saved the day

A quick trip to the vet confirmed the cats' and family's suspicions.

Family accidentally brings wrong dog home but their cats knew

It's not a secret that nearly all golden retrievers are identical. Honestly, magic has to be involved for owners to know which one belongs to them when more than one golden retriever is around. Seriously, how do they all seem have the same face? It's like someone fell asleep on the copy machine when they were being created.

Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That's why it's not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn't notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.

See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn't fooling her feline siblings.

Keep ReadingShow less
All images courtesy Lesley Cerwin

A 12-year-old student wrote Costco's CEO asking for help.

Imagine your 12-year-old son is helping take part in his school’s Valentine’s Day fundraiser. You’d probably be proud and encouraged at the way he’s getting involved and doing something good, right?

Now imagine, as part of that effort, he decided to email the CEO of Costco, one of the most beloved big box retailers in the world. Well, that’s cute, right? But what if he told you the CEO not only wrote back but went out of his way to donate exactly what your son asked for?

It may sound too good to be true, but that’s exactly what happened when Grant Cerwin sent an email to Costco CEO Craig Jelinek. The sixth grader emailed Jelinek asking if he would donate one of Costco’s famous 93-inch teddy bears to his middle school’s fundraiser in Los Angeles:


Keep ReadingShow less
Sandra Maria/Youtube, Official Lives & Music Videos/Youtube

You can't not sing this song.

The music of Queen has a profound visceral effect on everyone. Few pieces of art can cause complete strangers to put aside their differences and come together in song, but by golly, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of them. It would be cheesy if it weren’t so absolutely beautiful.

This pertains even to non-English-speaking countries, it appears. Recently, thousands of Harry Styles concertgoers in Warsaw, Poland, began cheering as those iconic beginning piano notes penetrated the air.
Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy

From dogs to dancers, we've got a whole list of smile-worthy finds.

Have you ever wondered if laughter counts as exercise? After all, your heart rate increases, your muscles seize up and sometimes you can't even breathe. That sure sounds like exercise.

Actually, laughter does burn extra calories. If you can keep the giggles going for 10-15 minutes, you can burn 40 calories. Do that a few times a day, and you've not only gotten in a decent burn for not a lot of work, but you've also given your immune system a boost and lowered your blood sugar levels.

If you're looking for a laugh, we've got a few things here that ought to do the trick. And we've got a bunch of other things that are definitely worth smiling about, so if you could use a mood boost, we've got you.

Enjoy!

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

This mesmerizing dance routine is a cultural phenomenon in China and with good reason

Hearing impaired performers come together in perfect synchronization to share a beautiful message.

Hi China/Youtube

Dancers emulate Guan Yin, the goddess of compassion

In a world full of jaw-dropping dance routines, the Thousand Hand Guan Yin manages to captivate like no other.

A large group of performers in identical golden costumes flow together in synchronized movement so seamlessly that it appears as though one entity with several arms is moving about space.

That entity is Guan Yin, a goddess of compassion who, according to Buddhist legend, will never rest in nirvana as long as any sentient being suffers on Earth.

Guan Yin is often depicted with a thousand arms, having an eye in the palm of each hand, to symbolize an omnipresent mother figure always witnessing the pain of humanity with endless amounts of mercy, extending out one of her many arms to lend a helping hand.

The performers emulate this with intricate, delicate hand gestures while standing very close to one another, resulting in a mesmerizing optical illusion.

But the dance in and of itself isn't the most remarkable thing about this piece—each of the performers are hearing impaired.

Keep ReadingShow less

People reveal the reasons they cheated. It's insightful and eye opening.

Infidelity is devastating for relationships. When you find out a partner has been unfaithful it can feel like a bomb went off in the middle of your living room while you were just trying to drink your morning coffee. The carnage from an affair can be extensive, especially if there are children involved.

But no matter what circumstances the infidelity happened, the partner who was on the receiving end of the betrayal often wonders why? It can send some people in a spiral of shame and self blame for the actions of their partners which feel debilitating. Oftentimes, the betrayed partner never feels like they get a truthful answer from their partners but one Reddit user decided to invite partners that have strayed to explain why they cheated.

Surprisingly, many of the answers were extremely insightful seemingly showing extraordinary growth since that time in their lives. There was also a lot of remorse expressed for their previous harmful behaviors.

Keep ReadingShow less