In response to Hurricane Laura, I am reaching out to New Orleans Local members and my purpose is two-fold.
First, I want you to know I care about your well-being and hope that you and your loved ones are safe. If you have been impacted and need financial assistance, I’d like to remind you that the SAG-AFTRA Motion Picture Players Welfare Fund and SAG-AFTRA Foundation have jointly created a Disaster Relief Fund available to eligible SAG-AFTRA members impacted by COVID-19 and/or hurricanes. Members may also be eligible for assistance from The Actors Fund. Additional resources are listed below. If you know of other organizations, please email me at neworleans.president@sagaftra.org and I will share those on social media.
Second, if you are able, I encourage you to lend a hand to our fellow citizens in need through volunteering your time or making donations. I want to share one story with you that makes me so proud of our New Orleans Local members.
SAG-AFTRA member Jeff Galpin is a volunteer with Cajun Navy Relief and Rescue and what I write will never capture the passion and commitment he expressed in our brief conversation Sunday while getting ready to return to Lake Charles Monday afternoon to help. The Cajun Navy is an emergency organization that takes in calls from people needing help from floods and disasters. Volunteers arrive, in their own trucks and boats, bringing their own gas and tools. They are directed to areas where people could be trapped without the means to leave their damaged residence, often with nowhere to go.
In the picture above, Jeff arrived Thursday morning and was immediately directed to an apartment complex where young and old people needed help. He hurriedly carried some of the elderly and babies into his truck to bring to them safety only to quickly return and gather the remaining children. The storm victims were hungry, thirsty and hot. World Kitchen follows the Cajun Navy around to cook and serve food to the volunteers and storm victims.
In closing, I want to give a special “Thank You” to all the volunteers and public servants rallying together and helping since COVID-19. We will get through this together.
And if you are volunteering in our local community, please let me know!
In solidarity,
Diana Boylston
SAG-AFTRA New Orleans Local President
Organizations helping victims of Hurricane Laura in Louisiana include:
American Red Cross
Cajun Navy Relief & Rescue
FEMA
SAG-AFTRA Foundation
SAG-AFTRA Motion Picture Players Welfare Fund
The Actors Fund
2-1-1 United Way of Southwest Louisiana