CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
1-800 DISASTER
Please note that this
"How To Help" box was printed alongside a newspaper story about a recent tornado
(Spring of 1997) that killed over twenty people in a small Texas town, just north of
Austin. In fact, for several days in a row, this "How To Help" box—or one
similar to it—appeared in newspapers throughout America.
How To Help:
Needed
Cash,
lumber, cement, roofing materials, tools
Not needed
Food, clothes,
shoes, toys
Where to send checks
Jarrell
Recovery Fund
c/o Eagle Bank
P.O. Box 345
Jarrell, Texas 76537
(512) 746-2531
Salvation Army
c/o Tornado Relief
P.O. Box 28145
San Antonio, Texas 78228
(210) 223-6877
Burial Fund Donations
c/o Community
Fund Donations
First Baptist Church
P.O.. Box 339
Jarrell, Texas 76537
American Red Cross
c/o Disaster Relief
Fund
2218 Pershing Drive
Austin, Texas 78723
1-800-928-4271
Catholic Charity
c/o Jarrell
Disaster Fund
Diocese of
Austin
P.O. Box 13327
Austin, Texas 78711
San Antonio Food Bank
4311 Director
Drive
San Antonio, TX 78219
(210) 337-3663
All newspapers, both large and small, print these "How To Help" boxes along with the actual story. These "How To Help" boxes appear as a small shaded box to give them a special appearance. I have seen them dozens of times over the years (see appendix).
I just said, "show me the money." I also said that Krishna Disaster Relief should work closely with Anuttama prabhu and his ISKCON Communications office. Naturally, I would like to see this blueprint followed by ISKCON and just as soon as the initial steps that I have outlined have been implemented, at that point Krishna Disaster Relief should acquire its own 1-800 number. One that can be easily memorized. 1-800-DISASTER has already been taken by someone. Perhaps 1-800-KRISHNA is available.
The basic idea from here is that whenever a major disaster strikes, ISKCON Communications would generate a fax and send it to every newspaper in America, with our 1-800 number. Of course, even before this, ISKCON Communications would have sent to these newspapers information about Krishna Disaster Relief. If written nicely and with a photograph included, many newspapers would print the entire thing as a general-interest story.
I want to stress the words, "every newspaper." We don’t want to leave out rural America. Our country is dotted with millions of small towns and they all have their small newspapers. I have a collection of them. They also report on major disasters and include these "How To Help" boxes. In other words, the residents in a small village in Montana—hundreds of miles from Texas—will nonetheless read in their local newspaper the story about the tornado in Jarrell. They will also notice a "How To Help" box, showing them where to send money for the relief efforts—and many people do.
The Salvation Army doesn’t pay to have their name placed in the "How To Help" boxes. No, their name is included because they are simply helping out. When you multiply this formula by the huge number of small newspapers in America—plus all the major ones—you can imagine how much money is given to the various relief agencies that respond to disasters. Since Lord Krishna is the greatest hero, I’m saying that Krishna Disaster Relief should be listed in these "How To Help" boxes, right along with the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities and others.
I am not a computer whiz but I have heard of special computers being able to simultaneously broadcast the same message to different addresses. It is just a matter of collecting and storing the necessary data on all these newspapers. When a major disaster hits, we can then customize a special press release and within no time have it sent to every newspaper in America.
Another point is that these newspapers, both large and small, also report on worldwide disasters—not just local or national disasters. I’m a little ahead of myself here, but shortly I will show you how a bonafide, worldwide, Hare Krishna disaster relief agency can be set up almost over night. Once this is done, whenever there is a major disaster—at home or abroad—we want to send a similar press release. Remember, besides reporting on the specifics of a disaster, these newspapers will also print a "How To Help" box. But first they have to know about us.
The points to consider here seem endless. Every region in the U.S. has some form of television news coverage. Breaking news reaches into homes via both world news and local news. I have also seen these "How To Help" boxes displayed on the television screen. Keeping track of every newspaper in America and every local television station will certainly keep ISKCON Communications busy, but this is what is needed. The idea is that we want Krishna Disaster Relief’s name and 1-800 number listed in every "How To Help" box that the media prints. Again, we should be right there alongside the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross! This is presenting Lord Krishna as He is—the world’s greatest hero.
Because Krishna Disaster Relief is a worldwide disaster relief agency, everything that I have mentioned so far in this chapter also needs to be duplicated globally. People in Brazil and Spain and Asia also have their local newspapers and local television stations. They also have their "How To Help" boxes. People everywhere want to help out and all we need to do is give them the opportunity.
As I have been trying to say all along, people relate to heroes. Even if the hero is a dog. If a dog were to jump into Canyon Lake today and pull out a little toddler, why, you would be seeing that dog’s photo in the National Enquire. Good Morning American would probably fly the dog and its owner to New York City for a live appearance. People love heroes. This they can relate to. Certainly Lord Krishna is the greatest and we can show the world that He is so great that He had 16,108 wives. Or, we can show Him coming to the rescue—as the word’s greatest hero.
The fact is that we have, here, with Krishna Disaster Relief, an excellent way to show Lord Krishna to the world, in way that they can relate to and appreciate. People love heroes. This is the value that this book is trying to present.