Andy Biggs Family - Hurricane Harvey

[Christopher Sanderson]

For anyone who knows Andy and would like to help he and his family recover from their uninsured loss due to Hurricane Harvey, there is a Go FundMe site for financial contributions.

[luxborealis]

A nice sentiment, but, (edit) thinking rhetorically (edit), how does one decide to fund the recovery of one well-known person, certainly a celeb in photography circles, over the thousands of unknowns who may be even worse off and equally "deserving".

Im not trolling here, just trying to see the bigger picture. Equally, I could have simply ignored Chris's post, but feel there are much greater needs out there, not just in Houston or the Caribbean, but in multiple places around the world on a daily basis.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

A nice sentiment, but how does one decide...

Easily. You either do or you don't.

This isn't about "deserving." People simply relate better to known persons, "one of us," and knowing where their help goes, than donating to ginormous bureaucratic organizations whose CEOs earn millions and where only a fraction of donations end up with the needy.

[luxborealis]

Easily. You either do or you don't.

This isn't about "deserving." People simply relate better to known persons, "one of us," and knowing where their help goes, than donating to ginormous bureaucratic organizations whose CEOs earn millions and where only a fraction of donations end up with the needy.

Yup, just the response I predicted... I should have stated the question was meant to be rhetorical, thought-provoking. But, as ever...

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Yes, you are passing by a beggar on the street and you stop to engage in a rhetorical, thought-provoking debate whether they are the ones most deserving on that street, or that city, or the planet.

The OP was a call for help. Your choice is either to help or not. Not to immediately question it.

[Christopher Sanderson]

...how does one decide to fund the recovery of one well-known person, certainly a celeb in photography circles, over the thousands of unknowns who may be even worse off and equally deserving....

I don't find the issue complex. You help your family, your friends, your neighbors - in that order.

[Telecaster]

Any kind of philanthropy involves making choices and employing some kind of strategy. Who or what to choose, and how to help? The sort of person you are will determine this.

-Dave-

[Alan Goldhammer]

The only question that I had related to Chris's original post, "...recover from their uninsured loss due to Hurricane Harvey...."  Why no flood insurance in an area that has seen persistent flooding?

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

The only question that I had related to Chris's original post, "...recover from their uninsured loss due to Hurricane Harvey...."  Why no flood insurance in an area that has seen persistent flooding?

Perhaps for the same reason it is prohibitively expensive to insure CA from earthquakes?

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Absolutely not true given that the Federal government subsidizes flood insurance...

That doesn't make it affordable for many. A few facts:

The last big flood, Tropical Storm Allison, was 16 years ago... Flood insurance in Houston plunged ahead of Harvey... fewer than two of 10 homeowners with flood damage have flood insurance... Houston's Harris County has 25,000 fewer flood-insured properties than it did in 2012... In Pasadena, just southeast of Houston, policies were down nearly 20 percent. Baytown, east of Houston, saw a 22 percent drop...

Under current rules, most homeowners with mortgages living in high risk areas for flooding, called Special Flood Hazard Zones, must buy flood insurance... Most of the Houston area falls outside those most vulnerable zones, and many homeowners who aren't forced to have coverage have decided to do without.

Now, whether it was smart or not, affordable or not, to have a flood insurance, it doesn't matter now, when someone is harmed and asking for help. And a lot of people are.

Source: http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2017/08/flood_insurance_in_houston_plu.html

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I would kindly suggest that those who would like to have rhetorical debates on who deserves what or not, or who made a mistake or not, simply move on, out of respect for Chris and Andy. This is one of those cases where if you can't say something nice (or help), better say nothing.

[Rick Popham]

For anyone who knows Andy and would like to help he and his family recover from their uninsured loss due to Hurricane Harvey, there is a Go FundMe site for financial contributions.

Thanks for the heads up, Chris.  As far as I'm concerned, Andy is family on this forum.