Anwar and Shanna have been members here at Vitality for quite a while now, many of us have gotten to know both of them and had the pleasure of spending some time with this great couple. Shanna told me earlier this week that Anwar’s family in the Philippines was hit by a massive Typhoon, Haiyan. Their village took a direct hit and they have lost everything and are extremely lucky to be alive.
You have all heard how much I love CrossFit and how great our community is. It is times exactly like this where we need to come together and help Anwar’s family out in any way we can. I can’t think of a harder time for something like this to happen, Thanksgiving and Christmas should be a time that you spend with your family, instead, Anwar’s family is left picking up the pieces and starting all over again.
I saw this video and it made me think how far out of touch we have gotten. These acts of kindness shouldn’t be a surprise. Doing the right thing should be something that is expected, not something that is out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, the right thing is now so seldom done, when we do see it, it is a shock to us. Whatever happened to helping people? We have become so consumed in our own little bubble of self preservation, we seldom go out of our way to help others.
The Benham’s have a connection in the Phillipines and we are going to run all the donations through their Foundation. I think rather than trying to send clothes, toys, or other gifts, money will be much easier and then they can purchase whatever they need in order to get things back up and running.
We will be collecting donations through the end of next week. All checks can be made out to the Benham Foundation. Tax receipts can also be provided if needed. This is an opportunity to help Anwar’s family know that they are in our thoughts and that we are going to support them as they start the rebuilding process. Thanks in advance for anything your able to donate!