25 Jun 2013

At the end of every A1 Accounting blog post, we ask you, the reader, if we can help.

We love to help, especially when it comes to small businesses and their taxes.

But now, we’re all being called upon to help in a different way.

The floods that last week struck our beautiful city and its surrounding areas have left some communities devastated. Some Albertans have lost everything. Homes will need to be rebuilt and restoration work will continue for months and months.

We are there to help each other, though. Friends and neighbours are coming together to help each other clean up the mess that the Bow has left behind. Thousands reportedly showed up at McMahon Stadium on Monday when Mayor Naheed Nenshi put out the call for volunteers. He requested only 800.

But that’s who Calgarians are. Even before the SOS was issued, people were asking on Twitter and Facebook how they could help, when the cleanup would start and what was expected of us all.

The Calgary Clean Up page on Facebook has more than 33,000 likes and crowd sources who needs help and who’s able to give it.

For instance, just this morning Dwayne Dickson posted that he could get his Jeep group to aid in the recovery of stuck vehicles or provide transport over rough terrain.

Or there’s the father and son team from Saskatoon who came to Calgary with a hydro vac truck to pump out basements for free.

Others have donations.

Still others are asking for help.

The Facebook page has a website, YYCHelps, established just a few days ago and got 38,000 hits on Monday alone.

KnackThat, a blog that helps homeowners find skilled tradespeople, is putting together a list of volunteers from trades industry to help fix the homes damaged by the flood.

And then there’s the simple act of donating to the Canadian Red Cross. You can send money online via the Red Cross website, or you can buy one of these nifty T-shirts from the Calgary Stampede.

All proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Floods Fund, which is providing relief to flood victims.

The show must go on, even though there’s a lot of cleanup to do in the next week or so. The Stampede is scheduled to start on July 5.

The Stampede is a Calgary icon and our city’s resilience will be demonstrated in this terrific event.

We are Calgary. We can take a beating, but thanks to its people, their love and compassion for each other, and their determination, we will come through this stronger.

Can you help?