Everyone knows by now that I’m a little more than in love with the people of New Orleans after they were affected and destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In fact, I’ve never even been to New Orleans for fun, or for Bourbon Street craziness.

I have been for two recovery trips and continue to think about when I can make a third trip. Many of you helped provide materials and transportation for our recent trip in May. I sit here watching the “year later” specials still not understanding the sites that my very own eyes just a few weeks after the storm. I still haven’t – in eleven months – ever smelled anything like the waste and death I smelled there the end of last September. I sit here watching the people of Katrina – the people we helped on both our trips down – on these shows and feeling the exact same desperation and hurt that I felt standing in front of the devastation that was before me, and surrounded me, eleven months ago.

For those that know me, I’m not all that empathetic of a person – but for some reason Katrina victims have latched on to my little heart. Maybe you too, realizing as tomorrow is the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina first hitting, how can I, all the way up here in DC, help this city and help the tens and thousands of people still without homes.

Here, DC, remember the victims of Katrina this week, as they mark the hardest year of their lives:

Enter your zip code here at Strength and find a DC restaurant that will support victims with a portion of their proceeds. There are many NoVa and DC participating restaurants.

Making Change for Katrina: click on the “zip code finder” and you’ll find many DC and metro-area locations where you can take your change and donate it to Katrina victims.

Please add more – you all are parts of organizations that are doing things to continue helping, right here in DC. Let us know how we can help.