DRIPPING SPRINGS BABBLE: ANGELS IN COWBOY BOOTS: DRIPPING HELPS HAITI

ANGELS IN COWBOY BOOTS: DRIPPING HELPS HAITI

There are so many reasons we're proud to live in Dripping Springs, but the extraordinary charitable efforts of Dyan and Montie Twining not only make us proud, they awe us. As we reported back in January, in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the Dripping couple created Angels in Cowboy Boots ( AICB ) as a way to help in Haiti.

Shortly after the earthquake, husband Montie chartered an airplane, filled it with medical supplies, and delivered the relief to a school in Port au Prince. Back in Dripping, Dyan quickly launched a website to take donations and provide information. Most of us watched the televised concerts or clicked a Red Cross button here and there and got on with our lives. Haiti fell off the front page and, for the most part, off our collective radar. But the reality is the people of Haiti are still seriously struggling, which is why Dyan and Montie have never stopped their aid efforts. Indeed, their efforts have only grown as the situation in Haiti remains extremely desperate.

Their website, aicb.org, has grown exponentially since those early days in January and become not only a place to donate, but an eye-opening resource for on-the-ground reports. They have also just launched a new donation effort based on Montie's experience in Haiti. In their bucket campaign, they have acquired 10,000 5-gallon buckets ready to be filled with food and delivered to the people in Haiti who are in desperate need. Each bucket is filled with a specific list of items which helps ensure orderly distribution in Haiti. The contents were also determined based on available cooking methods, and to fulfill basic food needs as cost effectively as possible. Each 5-gallon bucket contains approximately 40,000 calories and costs $30 to fill (you can see a complete list of contents on the website). After the buckets are emptied, they can then be used to store and/or transport potable water, or as a place to store belongings to keep them secure and dry. AICB has a relationship now in place with an organization that will provide no-cost transportation of the buckets from Florida to Haiti via cargo ships.

Heroes run into the devastation, not away, and they stay for as long as needed — that is exactly what Dyan and Montie have done. Haiti still needs our help and, thanks to Angels in Cowboy Boots, we have a local connection to give it. Detailed information is available on the website, but here is a rundown of several ways we can assist these hometown heroes and their efforts in Haiti.

Send a text message - Text the word “bucket” to 20222. Reply to the return message with the word "yes". Each response will gift AICB $10 and you can do that up to 4 times per billing cycle. A $10 donation will feed 15 people. Note: We did this while typing this post. Took about 20 seconds.

Fill a bucket or buckets - Gain a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that your bucket made a difference. Contact dyan@aicb.org to make arrangements to receive your empty Angels bucket ready for you to fill.

Get your group involved - Contact AICB at (512) 496-5504 to request 5-500 buckets to be delivered to your organization. They will even come pick them up once filled.

Use your Facebook page - Visit aicb.org for help on running a “virtual" bucket campaign. Set a fundraising goal and let your Facebook friends help you out.

Sit on the couch! - Visit aicb.org to donate and they will fill a bucket for you. AICB will do all the work and it's a great gift for that hard to buy for person.

In kind donations/financial contributions - Contact AICB at (512) 496-5504 to discuss in-kind donations or financial contributions.

In the photo, above, Montie Twining visits one of the many tent cities in Haiti. Dyan reports that this tent city is typical of how people are living. Haiti is now between harvests and rain is beginning fall, making the situation more grim.