There is a lot of bad stuff going on in the world right now. I know, we are all aware. Every time I sit down to write a lighthearted parenting post, the next thing I know, it’s two hours later and all I’ve done is look at footage of hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico, watch videos of the buildings falling in Mexico, read startling back and forth about America’s escalating tensions with North Korea and then disappeared in a wormhole regarding Jared Kushner’s email. And that doesn’t even touch upon everything coming out of DC around healthcare, tax reform, the travel ban, transgenders in the military, sexual assault on college campuses, etc. etc. etc.
A couple of days ago, I accidentally dropped my phone in a sink of running water and stopped blogging for a few days while my phone took a time out in a bag of rice. My laptop was working perfectly fine but I just didn’t feel like writing. There’s too much to say and nothing to say all at once.
In times like these, I don’t like to pretend that I’m living in a mommy blog bubble where real world stuff doesn’t affect me. I want to be helpful, and if I can’t do it by providing a laugh, then I look for another avenue.
So today, I’d like to highlight a few organizations that are currently helping Puerto Rico, all of which were suggested to me by people from Puerto Rico who follow me on Snapchat. From what I’ve read, donating to Puerto Rico is not just about rebuilding. The hurricane may have stopped wreaking havoc but as clean water becomes more scarce, days without power increase and spaces in hospitals run out, the suffering of the people in Puerto Rico is only going to get worse. You can read more of about the severity of the situation here.
This afternoon, I am going to take the kids to a fire department in the East Village that is collecting supplies for Puerto Rico. Specifically, they are asking for people to donate diapers, baby food, batteries, first aid supplies and feminine hygiene products.
If you are in NYC and would like to contribute, the firehouses accepting supplies in Manhattan are:
Engine 28: 222 E. 2nd St. (East Village)
Engine 91: 242 East 111th St. (Harlem)
Engine 95: 29 Vermilyea Avenue (Inwood)
For locations in Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens and the Bronx, click here.
Here are a few organizations recommended to me by my readers. I did my research before sharing but obviously, you should do your own research as well:
Puerto Rico Real-Time Recovery Fund: This fund is organized and managed by ConPRmetidos in partnership with the Foundation for Puerto Rico. 100% of donations will go to long-term relief for the victims of catastrophic Hurricane María in Puerto Rico. There appears to be another indirect landing page which says it is recommended by the NY Times, NBC News and more.
United for Puerto Rico: This fund was started by the First Lady of Puerto Rico to provide aide and support for people affected by Hurricane Maria. It is now backed by tons of brands and celebrities.
Global Giving: This organization is trying to raise $5 million to help all the islands in the Caribbean affected by the hurricanes, including Puerto Rico, Dominica and the Virgin Islands. This one was recommended by the Pod Save America Podcast.
Puerto Rico for Puerto Rico: This fund was started by Puerto Rican professionals living abroad who want to help rebuild their country.
Friends of Puerto Rico: This is a registry set up out of San Juan where you can easily purchase necessities like diapers, formula, water, and tools through Amazon Smile.
I’ll also do one better. Tell me what is keeping you up at night in the comments below and I will give $1 to the Puerto Rico Real-time Recovery Fund for every comment, up to $250. I am going to match an additional $250 for comments on Instagram.
Lastly, let’s keep talking and thinking about all the places affected by recent natural disasters because although the news cycle might change, the problems are going to be with us for a long time.
I sure hope this post gets as many comments as your giveaway posts. Thank you for your generosity. The hardest part for me to think about is all of the children left homeless who are missing their beds, blankies, and stuffed animals. I know how much comfort those items bring my son when he’s having a tough time and it breaks my heart to think about the children missing those things.
My husbands co-worker can’t reach his wife. She’s in Puerto Rico while he’s here working. It could be months before they’re able to locate and communicate. I feel so sorry for him.
I lay awake at night thinking about the state of the world in 20 years when my girls have their own children .
Thanks for putting this together! It’s been hard to know how to help!! 💕
Hi Ilana, this is my first comment in your blog or any blogs I follow. I am a silent reader, who reads the posts, appreciates but never leaves a comment. But today, I could not leave the blog without commenting. Really appreciate your effort to fundraise and match the donation. The things keep me up at night are all the scary events happening around the world. From natural disasters, to brutality towards people specially kids at different parts of the world makes me think whether this mankind has reached near its expiration date where people are getting devoid of their humanity, and the nature is becoming rebellious too.
Thank you for posting this! It’s hard to watch/read about these natural disasters affecting so many…especially children. It’s heartbreaking to think about the scary situations people are facing where they are worried about basic needs like getting clean water, diapers for children, power, etc. I do find hope that people from around the world are rallying together to support those that are facing an uphill battle for many days, weeks, months, and years ahead.
Roy Moore kept me up last night, and probably tonight as well. Truly frightened for all our children.
The tendency of so many people to hate those who are different than them keeps me up at night. The cruelty and oppression that results from that hatred nags at me all the time and keeps me up at night. M
Thank you for this post and for doing this.
❤️
What keeps me up at night are the millions of things running through my head that I never can catch up on. That, and Facebook. Thank you for this post and for your donation!!!
There needs to be more people in the world like you ❤️
thank you for posting these links and for all you do. refusing to help refugees in need with these ridiculous travel bans was bad enough, but our government’s inability to help our own citizens is truly appalling. wondering how much worse this blight on our national soul will get keeps me up at night.
Thank you for sharing these! I appreciate that they are directly linked to PR and specifically Hurricane Maria relief. I’ve given for Harvey and Irma but I wanted to make sure I could also give directly to a fund where it wouldn’t also be spent in Texas and Florida. Keep spreading the word!
It would be easier to list what isn’t keeping me up at night…
I really appreciate your blog more and more every day, and I admire you for speaking up about things that are important to you, knowing it may cost you followers or open you up to online torment. Thank you for that.
Lately, what keeps me up at night is that I’m afraid my four-year-old will be expelled from preschool. He is having trouble following directions and listening and his frustrations are coming out as aggressiveness. He is incredibly stubborn and hard-headed (he doesn’t really listen to me, either, if he doesn’t feel like it) but is also the sweetest, cuddliest cutie pie. I keep trying to impress upon him that he has to learn to manage his emotions, but I worry that his school will lose patience, or even if he makes it through PreK, that when he starts kindergarten next year he will be that kid that is in the office every week. Then I start thinking about how much attention I’m not giving his older brother while we are figuring this out and all the things my oldest deals with graciously from his baby brother, and I just don’t even know. Then when I do finally fall asleep, I end up dreaming about work. Thanks for letting me rant for a good cause!
Margaret are you in the US? If you are I’d recommend talking to the school to have your son assessed to see if he is indeed within age standards or if he may qualify and need some more supports in the classroom.
Have his hearing checked too! What we thought was a listening problem was actually a hearing problem. And we also found that led to what seemed to be a bad attitude and disposition at preschool. Good luck, mama!
Happy to support PR. I worry that our girls won’t ever surpass the gender wage gap, especially in finance. It seems that it is still a heavily male dominated area despite many of us women outperforming our peers.
I’m up because it is the only time I have time to myself!
I worry about the lack of empathy in the world today. So much suffering is ignored by so many who have the power to help. Thank you for not being one of those people!
Air conditioning. I live in Miami, and snuggling up at night in an air conditioned room makes me think of the millions of people who don’t have power in the Caribbean, in that sweltering heat and humidity. The elderly, at risk for hyperthermia.
I spent hours looking at the devastation in PR and just feel like I take the simple luxuries in life for granted. Sleeping in a dry bed, with blankets on because even though it 90 degrees out I have air conditioning. It breaks my heart to think of the conditions people are living in and the help can’t get there fast enough.
Thank you for doing this.
Increasing polarization and decreasing chances for productive discussion are so hard for me to witness. But I keep working on myself and with my kids anyway.
It seems like whatever news I read right before bed is the problem each night. Nuclear testing, crazy tweets, and all of the communities hit by disasters have been on the list recently. And I can’t forget proposed health care reforms, and any legislation regarding dreamers. I feel like society is launching and dodging grenades.
Thank you (and your followers!) for putting together this list, and thank you for your generosity.
How a group of people are talked about in a moment (take immigration right now) shapes how groups of people are seen in a society, and how policy is then shaped in the coming years and decades, –and how as a result a society can collectively miss how policy can exclude some, advantage others, and work to trap some/judge more harshly while allowing others/praising – how societal norms take shape to do the same, creating the implicit biases we don’t even know we have. If I look to a historical moment like emancipation, and how the views, language and conversations at the the time shaped so many African American realities in the years, decades, the century that followed, well, it eventually led to a second “reconstruction” era that was the Civil Rights Movements, and now (Societally, think about how people joke today about the older generations being racist. It just stands out to us now as ‘explicit,’ while we miss our own implicit biases and that of our community that shape our conversations and perspectives). I find myself thinking about how our world looks 5, 10 years from now, decades from now, because of the way some groups are punched down on, most often implicitly, but increasingly (amazingly) also explicitly. As someone mentioned above, I think opening ourselves to empathy will help us see what we may be missing in so many of our conversations at barbecues among our own communities. I think everything moves ‘forward’ eventually, but people have been joking about the end of the world, so we’ll either keep moving to “get there” or end up in the apocalypse that will serve as a great equalizer. Lol, ending on a playful apocalypse note is now considered lightening the conversation. 😏 Thanks, Ilana, you’re always impressing me. For providing creative and fresh she content, yes, but as person, too, for being more than just a blogger.
Thank you so much for putting this together. It’s all too easy to feel lost and hopeless in times like these, and end up not making progress in any direction because you don’t know where to start. Your efforts will go a long way to helping a great many people find a direction to focus their desire to make a difference. What keeps me up at night is the fear that we’ve already reached a tipping point and it’s too late to go back, but knowing of ways to help (that we can trust, like your list) gives me hope.
Thank you for doing this, Ilana. I’ve been following you since the very start of your blog which has always strike me as informative, entertaining and a lovely place to have those necessary conversations we need to have about raising our kids and surviving the process.
As a proud Puerto Rican woman, I thank your drive to make a statement about the situation of my beautiful island and its people. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. We will rise again, as we always had after profound tragedy, with a little help from our friends.
Thanks so much for posting this. It’s hard to know how to help in the best way possible. I worry about the current state of our country (as we all do), and hope we can continue to come together to help overcome situations such as this with love.
Thank you for being a helper! At night I think about why people are more interested in taking sides and shouting at each other, than coming together and helping those in need.
Thank you, Ilana, for bringing attention to this humanitarian crisis. I am in awe of people, like you, who use their platform to shine a spotlight where it’s so desperately needed.
Awesome of you to do this. The thing that keeps me up at night right now is morning sickness! This baby is kicking my butt, even in the middle of the night!
I just hope and pray that the people of Puerto Rico and Mexico where they just had another earth quake will be ok and get the help that they need. What keeps me up at night is feeling helpless. We can pray for people, but prayers can only do so much when thet need more than that.
You’re awesome for doing this!! ❤️❤️
What is keeping me up at night? Well literally, my kids are. But mostly the civil unrest in the world, people in our country are at each other’s throats due to opposing ideologies. Our president is consistently picking fights with other countries, and making us a target for hostilities. I’m terrified for the world my children will be left with.
What’s not keeping me up at night? Puerto Rico is weighing on my heart. It disgusts me that these are AMERICAN CITIZENS and yet those who say “we need to care for ourselves (America) first, before helping other countries” are not leaping to their feet to assist. I’m not even going to start talking about 45 – because then this comment would turn into a blog. I’m sharing this on facebook, and hope that my fellow Seattle-ites will contribute.
I hope you reach 250 comments! I’m going to search for this post on instagram too. I think about how quickly the news changes from day to day. As soon as one major event happens, they are focused on the next and the first seems to be forgotten. Why not follow up and remind us that the people involved in these major disasters still need assistance. Or show us the progress that is being made.
I guess the celebrity gossip is too important. (sarcasm)
You are one of my favorite bloggers, and your generosity just reinforces why I love you so much (and feel like I know you! Hi!). My views are very much aligned with yours, and there is so much happening in the world and particularly in the United States that keeps me up at night, especially as the mother of a 14 month old girl. It’s hard not to feel like I’m failing her in the old adage of “making the world a better place for our children to grow up.” But specifically regarding the recent onslaught of debilitating natural disasters – I have family outside of Houston and in Tampa Bay who thankfully were all spared from the worst that Harvey and Irma brought on, but I know that so many people out there were not as fortunate. I am saddened by the response of our current President, who has chosen repeatedly to continue making divisive comments rather than uniting us all in our humanity. My co-worker’s sister-in-law in Puerto Rico went in to labor during Hurricane Maria, 6 weeks early. She made it to a hospital, and thankfully her baby girl is healthy and strong despite coming so early (and I can’t help but think that labor was brought on by the stress of literally weathering the storms). I can’t imagine facing bringing your newborn home to a house damaged by the storms, without clean running water or electricity. They are lucky that they have a house to return to – not all are. I hope the support continues for all those affected and isn’t just a “fad.” Many will be rebuilding for months, or even years. Thanks for helping to shine a light!
I live in Northern Mexico, so after the earthquakes that have been happening, my heart felt so sad and surprised with what´s happening all over the world. It is amazing to see how many good people still are in our world, and how unity becomes a force. Im sending my best thoughts to everyone affected and that we can see what the real problems are around us.
Keeping me awake at night? In addition to all the sadness happening at the moment, hot flashes and an almost 15 year old daughter, an elderly mother, etc.
Awesome of you to do this!
I didn’t count how many posts there are so far, but it looks like quite a bit. 🙂
The list of things that keep me up at night…my kids (I have a 12 year old son and a 4 year old daughter), both figuratively and literally. What else, my mom who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and worrying about how her remaining days will be, my dad who takes care of my mom full time, while having heart a condition himself, my job (my family and I own our own business), our government, our society, our environment, on and on and on.
Of course, as I list these things I feel awful. Is my plate full, yes! Do I have real concerns, YES! But unlike those in Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Middle East, the Sudan, etc…we are safe, we have a roof over our head, food on our table, elderly parents, jobs, money, etc. Yes, I have worries, I have stress, but I have so much more than so many others. And instead of worrying about what is on my plate, I need to take that time and figure out how to help those who are as lucky right now.
Thank you, Ilana for the links to help.
*who AREN’T as lucky…
Thanks for matching! Puerto Rico certainly is a complete disaster zone but please don’t ignore the US Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. John & St. Croix) ! They rely heavily on the ports from Puerto Rico and are struggling to get as much attention as PR and even Houston. Check out AdoptAFamilyUSVI or Kenny Chesney’s Love for Love City foundation.
One of the things keeping me up at night is thinking about all of the displaced people in our country right now. Our leadership and unity are lacking and I fear the consequences for all of us, but most particularly for those in desperate need right now. I am hoping everyone can pull together and do what needs to be done, but there is always someone left behind. I am worried for those people who will be left devastated by these natural disasters.
Other than totally first world/average parent problems and what would seem to be the rollercoaster ride of pre-tween hormones what keeps me up at night is the way that fear is used to drive people apart and do crazy ass horrible things to each other. And how the world seems to be getting pushed to being at different ends of a spectrum based on this fear and blaming a stereotype at the other end when in reality we are probably all somewhere much nearer the middle once the crazy ass shouters would simmer down. Thanks for all the info – can’t do much but good to know how to do the little we can.
I’m another loyal reader who never comments. What keeps me awake: my brain is too full. Full of work (I’m a school librarian and have 300 students to think about) and home and family drama, full of the news and the daily doses of evil and devastation and incompetence in our country and the world. My heart breaks for the people whose lives have been destroyed by these storms, and I want to scream at the lack of news coverage and the lack of aid. Thank you so much for helping us to be helpers.
There’s a lot that keeps me up at night the state of our government, the state of our schools, and the hardships that these people are facing. I have a special spot in my heart for all of the pets/animals who couldn’t get away or who had to be separated from their families.
I think about my kids. I want to be an example for them to strive to do better and be better than we are now. Everyday I tell them: be brave, be kind and be smart. I hope they see that in me. I hope they stand up for themselves and those who have no voice. Thank you for your writing and for letting me know that I’m not alone.
Thanks for matching! I think about how the storms, earthquakes, and fires that are tearing apart North America, and about how long it will take us to recover. I think about North Korea and the fear of war. I think about the people that are at risk to lose their ability to save their lives or the lives of their family members because the government thinks those $s are more important than human lives. I think about how I fail on a daily basis to be the kind of mom I want to be. How I can admit my faults but cannot seem to change. And more. So, I try to drown it out by binge watching on Netflix. I just finished Bloodline, so now I’m ALSO thinking about what new show I can use to distract myself!
I can’t do much but I can recommend Ozark 🙂
The world is so scary right now. I think our job is to help others and set a good example for our children. Your girls are lucky to have such a good role model.
Gosh… so many things to choose from. However, in the end it all boils down to the sad fact that our world is full of so much hatred and intolerance.
Thank you so much for always speaking up for your beliefs, and acting on them.
Thanks for making this donation, Ilana. I’m up at night imagining all the different ways climate change will likely ruin the lives of my kids and future grandkids.
The thought that the government isn’t using its resources to help victims of disaster or others in need keeps me up at night.
My son’s speech delay, that may turn out to be a disorder, keeps me up at night. I have to compartmentalize, or all the horrible stuff going on in our country would just be too overwhelming.
I’m from Mexico City so basically everything is keeping me up these days, but at least I have a bed and a roof. Anyway, I’m sending good vibes to Puerto Rico!
Thank you for sharing! It’s so inspiring to see things like this. Parenting is leading by example and showing our kids how to be compassionate loving people.
Thanks for sharing! What keeps me up at night is the fact that “we” are modeling to our children that this is acceptable behavior by our leadership in a time of crisis, thank goodness for all the real leaders who have come forward to show how we actually should act towards our brother and sisters.
Great idea!!
Thank you for continuing to draw attention to this! What keeps me up at night? How do I raise my daughter to have empathy and compassion for those around her while also making sure she is tough enough so the world does not break her….thank you for helping me to remember that the best practice is to lead by example!
Thank you for doing this! ❤️
Thank you for the post. What keeps me up…the stresses of my job. But I also feel fortunate to have a job to worry about.
Thank you for using your platform to bring attention to such a serious issue. My heart is broken for Puerto Rico and all of the carribean islands that have been hit so hard this hurricane season. I wish I had the financial means to help these people in a more meaningful way.
Thank you and hats off for posting this!
Thanks for not shying away from what is right Ilana. I would imagine talking politics is scary for a blogger but you do it well ❤️
This is a great thing you are doing!
I know what you mean about so much to say and not enough. Our family has struggles but it does seem so minor compared to PR.
Sometimes there are no words… 😞😭💓💔
Thank you for doing this!
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and the suggested organizations for donations. The whole situation is so upsetting and discouraging.
Thank you for taking the time to post this. I have young twins that just entered kindergarten so I worry about them all the time. I also worry about the people of Puerto Rico and any others that are suffering in other countries with the recent tragic events.
Simply…thank you. <3
Thank you, Ilana, for listening and using your platform to help others.
Thank you for helping
This is so important. Thank you for raising awareness.
Thank you for this 💓 I read today that at almost 2 wks later, only 5% of the island has power… so so devastating. I so appreciate your efforts to help!!
I’m overwhelmed when I try to articulate what’s the most worrying thing to me. So I’ll just say that I am afloat paralyzed with the state of the world I’ve brought my toddler and newborn into. Thanks for helping PR.
My heart goes to all the people affected.
❤️ I truly hope they get what they need and can start to rebuild their lives.
❤️
Thank you for doing this. ❤
Thank you so much for including something serious for a serious time. I have been wondering, did the world suddenly get heavy when my daughter was born, or am I now more sensitive to what is happening in the world? It is paralyzingly. So many people in need. The thought of so many people hurt, killed, orphaned, or losing their children… I just don’t have the words. All I can do is try to send what I can, and when I worry in my bed at night, I try to really, REALLY appreciate that my family is safe, warm, dry, and together.
Thank you!
This is wonderful!!!
Thank you for using your social media powers for good.
Thank you for all the ways to help!
It’s hard to care so much about the world, but it’s definitely a good thing, even if it is painful. It is nice to see the comments full of empathetic people. For me, I think right now the blatant racism in our country and the denial of many people about it is keeping me up. I am a student at a university where ‘Free Speech’ has been a huge debate on campus, but to me it seems like certain people, the ones causing a divide and disruption on our campus and the news stations that cover our school, only think freedom of speech matters if the person who is speaking is white. For example, when Colin Kapernick and Steph Curry, both successful black athletes, spoke out against racial injustice and the White House respectively, conservatives including Trump freaked out and started calling them bad people and disrespectful while the white supremacists who marched in Charleston were ‘very fine people’. Yet some cannot see the irony and racism embedded in this. It is exhausting but bringing attention to it all is important. Thank you Ilana for not shying away from these difficult subjects.
What keeps me up at night? That I just don’t know where to start to make The greatest impact both with my family or in the world.
I worry that listening to the news makes me an anxious less kind mommy. I worry that if I don’t listen to the news I won’t be informed and won’t help. I worry that so much is happening at once that people will soon just turn away from everything. I worry that everything I do is not enough.
Amen sister
Thank you for caring and your generosity, Ilana. What keeps me awake at night – how do I teach my children to be the good in the world, when shit keeps getting thrown at us?
Thank you for helping. I don’t understand why the post has only 89 comments. It has 212 shares. Over 100 people shared without bothering to comment.
Thank you again. The need in Puerto Rico is so dire.
Thanks for sharing! Sometimes people just need to be informed the best way to help so this is very helpful!
Thank you for the list of places to help. So sad.
Thank you for continuing to keep PR top of mind for people!
Thank you so much for caring!
Thank you.
I just donated this morning, kicking myself a little for donating so quickly for Houston, and moving slower for the relief here. What keeps me up at night is not so much the million little bad things, but the sense that things are getting worse rather than better for my children.
All these disasters and violence are keeping me up. I initially thought the access to media was what was bringing to light all the violence, but natural disaster after natural disaster. And that’s only here in the US. It has me feeling like wtf is happening? Is this for real? Is my part of ge world next? Thanks for speaking up. As much as I want to hide in my bubble of good fortune, I cannot and will not.
Thank you for this information. I worry about what kind of world my kids will inherit, and if their generation will be able to fix the clusterf*** we are creating. How far is too far down the rabbit hole?
What keeps me up at night is the fear that all of this will only get worse, and my anger with those who would let it happen.
Thank you! Some days you needs your humor, so days the world needs a little more.
Thank you!
Only just recently, a family thing has been what’s keeping me up at night. Before that, these recent catastrophes and the whole kneeling-during-the-anthem were what had been plaguing my mind. It’s so generous of you to make this offer, so I hope many people read, comment, and take action themselves. You are a great example for your girls
Thanks for doing this. xo
My family is originally from Puerto Rico so I have quite a few aunts/uncles/cousins that still live there. They’re all safe, thank goodness, but are so weary from what’s been happening lately with the economy and now the devastation. I feel incredibly helpless as so many others do so taking things on bit by bit seems a good way to keep it from being overwhelming. Thank you for doing this.