Guys in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy back in 2012 as I watched the Red Cross unable to find their ass with both hands I conceived of a rapid response agile non profit to help when something like this happened again.

This vision became CAC Teams (Citizen’s Assisting Citizens).  Realizing I didn’t have the time or the knowledge to run such an organization I assembled a team of folks to do so.  This team acquired non profit status, and built the organization I envisioned.  Today that group is run by our own Steven Harris.

Hurricane Harvey and its damage is exactly why I envisioned such a team and right now they are deploying into North Texas to support the refugees that have evacuated the area.  I just recieved this email from Steven Harris, it tells you how you can help the CAC Team Effort, as a responder or by contributing to the organization.

From: Steven Harris
Subject: EMERGENCY Callout for TSP Listeners – Hurricane Harvey

The entire state of Texas from Dallas SOUTH to Houston and that whole area is OUT OF GAS, OUT OF ATM CASH, OUT OF FOOD, OUT OF WATER, OUT OF DIAPERS.  There will be lots of places Dallas and SOUTH where you will be able to find people in need and churches or schools that set up a shelter for locals and the Red Cross and the Salvation Army IS NOT there and don’t even know that they exist.

HARVEY WILL BE WORSE THAN KATRINA.  Harvey is going to STALL over southern Texas and sit there and SPIN and NOT LEAVE until Late Tuesday or Wednesday.   This devastation will be going on for a week and then even more after the storm.  Your help is NEEDED NOW or even 7 Days from NOW.  You’ll be able to help people.   You DO NOT need to drive into the area of destruction.

No matter WHO you are, no matter HOW FAR you are from the Dallas and South Areas of Texas.  If you want to drive down with food, water and diapers and baby wipes and anything else you can go to walmart and get a ‘bluebird card’ and call me, Steven Harris, or Tom Patterson.  I’m the Chairman of the Board of CACTeam.com, Tom Patterson is the Executive Director of CACTeam.com.  Tom can load money onto your bluebird card (at walmart) once you give him the card numbers.  If you show up to a place and there is red cross or salvation army is there, then LEAVE and go find people who don’t have these agencies there.  Like I say below, you’ll find people camping in their cars in walmart parking lots, and home depot lots etc… 

We are paying for the FOOD, Water, Diapers, Baby Wipes and anything else you are going to take down.   We are going to be paying for  your FUEL to go there as well.   We’re NOT paying for your hotel if you stay because one of the main reasons is ALL THE HOTELS ARE FULL.   You are going to find people sleeping in their cars in a walmart parking lot.  You’ll find mothers with babies who have no diapers, they are out of gas and stuck there and the store is out of everything.   These are the types of people we are there to help.   If you have room, you can shuttle people to a Red Cross Shelter.  IF you are comfortable doing this.

*IF* you are going.   You *MUST* have enough fuel with you to get to where you are going and to get BACK to where there is fuel ON YOUR OWN.   Its like swimming out to sea, you can go so far that you won’t be able to make it back.   So know your vehicle and know how much fuel you have and how much you can carry.  You *MUST* have your own food.  I’d like to say we’ll buy you dinner at Cracker Barrel but they are going to be out of food too.  I’d suggest you have a tent that you can pop open someplace and take a break, sleep, then drive back home. DO NOT DRIVE TIRED !!!!   I have a close friend who is DEAD because he drove and fell asleep (no seatbelt either).

Ok.  So here is what you MUST DO if you are going to do this.   You *MUST* EMAIL Me, Steven Harris, *FIRST* Send me your name, location and your cell phone number.  I will call you back.  I will brief you on what I want you to do, what to buy, where to buy etc…  Then you go to a walmart and get a “bluebird card’.  then you call Tom Patterson, I’ll of already contacted him that you are calling.  He will load some funds onto your bluebird card.  You can then fill up, get food, water etc… and drive to areas on need in Texas.   Don’t forget to stop by a police station or a fire station and ask where is there a shelter or people we can deliver snacks and water too?  Don’t forget to offer the cops and firemen some water and snacks as well.  Also, you *MUST* save ALL receipts !!! and they will have to be photographed and emailed to Tom Patterson when you get back.

If you can stop and get some iphone and android charging cables and you can charge off your car, 1.  to keep your phone alive, 2, charge other people’s cell phone, then please do so.  I have a video that covers ALL aspects of cell phone charging.  Call me, or email me, I’ll send you the video for free, you can actually BUY the items from Amazon TONIGHT, get them in 2-3 days and deploy in 4 or 5 days from now.

ALOT of people are going to need HELP from people LIKE YOU.  Have questions?  Email me or Call me.  You can call me up to 3AM in the morning EST.  Please call me AFTER 12 Noon and before 3AM.   Got it?   Got Questions?  Ask!!!  Have a pen and paper ready for when you call me.  Get ready for me to download to you, you are about to jack in and you are about to find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes.  This will be a story you’ll be telling to others for a decade and it will be on of those ‘points’ in your life where you’ll never ever forget.

Oh... there is one OTHER thing YOU *MUST* DO.  Ready.  You MUST be ready with your cell phone or camera to take 100, 200 or more photos.  WE NEED YOUR PHOTOS, if there is some good video you can take of the situation or of you helping, please do that as well.   We are ready to spend *ALL* of our CAC funds on Harvey.  If we want MORE donations then we NEED those photos and videos you’ll take to SHOW people WHERE their money is going !!!  Got it ?!!   So you darn well better ask me for my Cell Phone Video and have the tools and the memory space to do this.  *I* need these photos and video bad to continue CACteam.  I know you’ll do outstanding.

ALSO !!! ! ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEO are to be taken HORIZONTALLY…. in landscape.DO NOT NOT NOT NOT take ANY photos with the cell phone VERTICAL or in Portrait mode !!  GOT IT !!!  Human eyeballs are side to side.  Movie Theaters and TVs are oriented HORIZONTALLY !!!  The world is FLAT, its NOT a skinny cylinder up and down.  Take the photos horizontally or do not take them at all.  The only thing worse than no photos is bad photos.

Steven Harris
Chairman of the Board CACTEAM.com
You can email me at support =at= knowledgepublications (dot) com

Folks now is the time to assist others in need, I told you how bad this was going to be in my post “Get Out, Get Out, Get Out“, yesterday.  Many did indeed get out, now they need our help.

If you can help with this effort contact Steve, if you can’t help directly but can contribute financially to the effort, you can do that at http://www.cacteam.com/make-a-difference/financial-donations  I personally just made a significant donation to CAC, remember I never ask this community to do anything I would not personally do myself.

Disclaimer – While I founded CAC and assembled the initial team behind it, I no longer have any official influence over the organization.  I have no official position with the group.  It is simply the result of a vision I had, to see it now go into action gives me a great deal of pride.  Thank you to Steve and the other board members who made it happen.