The Generosity of Spirit in Houston

Many of you might know I am a bit of a Houston fan. It's not that they don't have zoning --- I am neutral on that issue --- but because they have heart. I was privileged to see Houstonians open themselves to 250,000 or more mostly poor and minority evacuees from Louisiana after Katrina. It was an inspiring effort and very ecumenical, led largely by evangelical Christians but including Jews, Muslims, Catholics and anyone else who gave down.

Now, after Ike, they are taking care of their own, as we can see from a message from Elliot Gershenson to Jeff Mosley (listed at the bottom) at the Greater Houston partnership.

A lot of cities may be prettier or have better weather than Houston, but in terms of helping neighbors, no big city is better. As Davis Henderson, CEO of the Greater Houston Chapter of the American Red Cross, told me after Katrina, “Who else would have adopted another city like we adopted New Orleans?” Henderson previously oversaw Red Cross operations in Tampa and Chicago. ”In Houston,” he adds, “a neighbor is a neighbor --- not a competitor.”

Urban greatness has many facets, but if I was to pick one, the kind of generosity of spirit Houston has showed would be at the top of my list.

Here's the full letter:

Like so many non-profits, IM has been out of power but still kept going, serving the community. It's hard to believe that it is possible to serve so many seniors and refugees without computer power and phone service, but somehow we have done so. Just as so many other first-responder organizations like the Red Cross, Salvation Army and government agencies like the City of Houston, Harris County and FEMA have stepped up. We'll likely hear stories about failed efforts, but the true heart and guts of our city needs to be recognized. There are so many stories of bravery, dedication and pure visionary action that are worthy of telling.

There's the story of dozens of churches and other faith groups who have been housing evacuees from Galveston and other places in their gyms and sanctuaries - providing food, shelter and clothing. Much of these expenses will be borne by them. Certainly the time and talent of their core volunteers and staff is being diverted from other programs - all because the people of Houston are heroes.

There's the story about crime - not the one we would expect - but how low the crime statistics have been.

People in Houston have learned how to drive! Somehow, with all those lights out, people have slowed down and let the other guy take a turn.

I keep hearing that people connected with their neighbors, many for the first time. And now as the electricity is coming back on and the garage openers begin working again, it feels like we're losing something very special.

I learned about one church's senior pastor who received a phone call from someone he didn't know living back east. The caller said they could not find their elderly parents and were desperate to find out if they were ok. So this pastor got in his car late that night, with a load of food, water and ice and drove across town to find the parents. He drove up to the house and knocked on the door. They were fine, but without electricity or phone, so he called their kids on his cell phone and said "here, someone wants to talk to you." After the call the parents said they didn't need anything but across the street there was someone who really looked like he did. So the pastor gave all of his food, water and ice to the neighbor. The next day he came back with more food and water only to find that the neighbor had distributed what he received the night before to his neighbors. The church volunteers returned each day until the electricity came back.

The president of my synagogue bought Sabbath dinner for 1,250 families who he thought might need a kosher meal. In the end a number of synagogues and the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston backed him up so that he did not need to take this financial burden on his own. Only about 500 families came forward to receive these meals, so in the end he and my synagogue donated enough food to the Houston Food Bank and the Jewish Community Center to feed 700 families and seniors.

I could go on - but I think you already know what I am talking about. You've likely witnessed this yourself and have been amazed by the grace that has been shown by Houston and all of our leadership.

On that note (about leadership), please let me make a special appeal. Normally this would have been the Tuesday Memo when I showcase the annual United Way campaign which just began. IM is proud to be a significant recipient of United Way funding and we use these funds to serve well over 1,000,000 meals to seniors each year, to make the resettlement of hundreds of refugees the best we know how, and to support our Ready Houston! disaster preparedness and response activities (which has been in full swing these past two weeks).

My focus always is on the community building elements of the campaign. I have been quoted as saying that if someone gave Houston $1 billion dollars NOT to run an annual campaign, if I were the United Way Board Chair I would turn it down. Not because I am foolish, but because I believe, as important as the money raised is, it is equal䁥

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