Comments for a Cause - Ashland Community Foundation Fire Relief Fund

It's the first of the month and no foolin' I have a report on Comments for a Cause.  Since the beginning of the year things have been busy and after some refocusing the last couple of weeks I'm excited to get back on track with monthly Comments for a Cause.

To get started let's talk about the Ronald McDonald House.  Since January, I have had a total of 83 comments, creating a donation of $41.50 to help out families with hospitalized children staying at one of the 362 Ronald McDonald Houses worldwide.  Thank you for all of your support.

Now for the month of April I'm looking forward to helping farmers and ranchers affected by the wildfires in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado by donating $0.50 for every comment made on my blog to the Ashland Community Foundation Fire Relief Fund.

In March a wildfire spread across the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado.  More than two million acres have burned.  Tens of thousands of cattle and other livestock have died and tragically seven people also lost their lives.  Farmers across the country are stepping up to help their fellow farmers and ranchers by donating supplies, time and money to get these communities the support they need, and this month I'm doing my part by donating to the Ashland Community Foundation Fire Relief Fund, an area hit severely by the wildfire.

My heart goes out to all of those affected by the wildfires.  My heart also goes to everyone that is lending a helping hand.  In fact, just today, some friends of ours were part of a hay convoy down to Kansas to help ranchers whose grasslands and hay resources that were burned.

Our friend's son standing in front of the Hay Convoy
from Mount Pleasant, Iowa to Meade, Kansas

This group of farmers from the Henry County, Iowa area not only donated hay, but time, fuel and semi-trailers to make the long distance haul to south of Dodge City, Kansas.  One of our friends said that he was happy and honored to help and knew that "if something happened to us (Iowa farmers), they (Kansas ranchers) would come help us."

The crew left at 4 a.m. this morning to make the 11 hour drive to Kansas

So help support farmers, ranchers, families and communities impacted by the wildfires in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado by commenting all month long.  Check out my Farmers Helping Neighbors on National Ag Day post to find out other ways you can help too.  Do you know of other ways people are helping the wildfire victims?  Please share in the comment section and remember to Comment for a Cause all month long!

Farmers Helping Neighbors on National Ag Day

Living in the country, the term "neighbor" has a pretty broad meaning.  Factually saying, my nearest neighbor is one mile away.  But if we limit neighbors to just one mile, then I only have three neighbors.  So like many rural residents, I stretch the boundaries of neighbors more than Wikipedia probably accepts.

One thing I love about the farming community is that we stretch our community boundaries, and are always willing and wanting to help out a neighbor.  Several years ago we partnered with many other neighbors to help out some neighbors (they live 5 miles away) harvest their husband/father's fields after he unexpectedly passed away.  We were there for Therron's family not expecting anything in return.  We were there because it is what a neighbor does.  We help each other out.  We are a friendly face giving the farmer wave driving down the road.  We care for the well being of our entire community.

The harvest crew for the Therron Miller family, October 2011

Right now is a time that the farming community is coming together to help our neighbors in Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas that have been impacted by wildfires.  Through these wildfires, more than 2,300 square miles have been burned and tragically seven people have died and thousands of cattle have been killed.

Last Friday, Iowa's Governor Terry Branstad signed a proclamation to allow the transportation of oversize and overweight loads of forage on Iowa's roads for the next two months.  This is allowing people to drive large bales of hay and other forages to the ranchers in need.

Another way Iowa's farmers are lending a hand is by an online auction happening on Friday, April 7th at 10 a.m. to raise funds for victims of the recent wildfires.  This is being hosted by the Iowa Cattlemen's Foundation, Iowa Cattlemen's Association and Dream Dirt.  You can learn more about the auction by checking out my friend, and neighbor, Cristen of Food & Swine's recent post.

You can also find a list of other aid efforts on AgWeb.

Do you know of any other ways to help our neighbors affected by the wildfires?  Be sure to share in the comment section below and always remember to Comment for a Cause!