www.stillisstillmoving.com

photo: Jim Eckenrode

So typical of Willie Nelson —  he turns the big 8-0, but  instead of sitting around relaxing and accepting gifts, best wishes and accolades — Willie Nelson starts giving gifts to everyone else.  First, he announces that his fans can help him celebrate his birthday, a day which year after year he says is ‘just another day’, and most often finds him performing at one of his regularly scheduled shows somewhere around the country or the world.  

This year, Willie invited his family and friends and fans to his home town of Austin, Texas, to celebrate his birthday with him at a concert at the Back Yard.  So, instead of him sitting around doing nothing, he works hard and entertains us fans who are sitting around doing nothing, enjoying him.   So Willie. 

Then, when the terrible fire/explosion disaster happened at the fertilizer plant in West, Texas, Willie immediately changed the concert from a birthday celebration concert, to a fundraiser to benefit the folks of West, Texas, and volunteer fire department, who lost so many precious lives and equipment that day.   Willie and his sister Bobbie Nelson were born and grew up right down the road from West, in Abbott, Texas, and had friends in the area who suffered from the event.  Willie immediately wanted to donate the proceeds from the concert to help out his friends and neighbors.  So Willie. 

Thanks, to Tim O’Connor, of the BackYard,  and their staff and crew, and  Willie Nelson and Family and Crew, for their generosity towards the folks in West, Texas.

If you couldn’t make it to the concert, there are ways you can still help out the folks of West and Abbott, Texas:

A benefit account for the “Abbott VFD- Fallen Fighters Fund” has been set up at The First National Bank of Central Texas, in Hillsboro, Texas.   If anyone would like to donate, please stop by or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate contact them.   ~*God Bless*~  The address is : FNBCT, 300 E. Elm St, Hillsboro, TX 76645. 

West Texas Relief Fund:

The City Council of West officially endorsed the West, Texas Disaster Relief Efforts Fund as the recommended recipient for all charitable donations made for the relief efforts in West, Texas.

Three local foundations – Cooper, Rapoport and Waco – coordinated together to establish The West, Texas Disaster Relief Efforts Fund, housed at Waco Foundation. This Fund is for the sole benefit of the victims and relief efforts of the West Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion. The Rapoport Foundation made the lead gift of $20,000 to the Fund in order to encourage the Waco community to be the leading contributors in support of our neighbors in West. Cooper Foundation quickly followed suit with a gift of $20,000 to the Fund. To date, the Fund has received almost $310,000 from individuals and foundations throughout the United States.  

The Fund can accept donations of cash, check, credit card or publicly traded securities. Contributions may be designated for general assistance, firefighter relief or for the victims who were directly impacted by this tragedy. General assistance contributions to the Fund are strongly encouraged as there are many other needs to be addressed that do not fit into a designated category. Waco Foundation is covering all administrative cost so that 100% of the contributions received from donors will be distributed out to the relief efforts. In addition, Waco Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity; therefore all gifts received are fully tax deductible. 

To donate to the West, Texas Disaster Relief Efforts Fund, visit wacofoundation.org and click the West, Texas Disaster Relief Efforts link on the homepage. Checks can be made payable to Waco Foundation for the benefit of the West, Texas Disaster Relief Efforts Fund. All additional inquiries related to charitable contributions should be directed to Melissa Miller, Director of Communications & Donor Services, at Waco Foundation at (254) 754-3404 or mmiller@wacofoundation.org.

American Red Cross

West, Texas, May 1, 2013 — Two weeks after a fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas, claiming lives and leaving hundreds of people in the town without homes, the Red Cross continues to provide food, relief items and emotional support to residents as they take the first steps towards recovery. 

To date, the Red Cross has served more than 18,600 meals and snacks and distributed more than 19,400 clean up and hygiene relief items in West, Texas. Red Cross nurses and licensed counselors have made more than 1,200 health contacts and 1,500 mental health contacts with West residents following the trauma of this unique disaster. 

“The moment the Red Cross was notified of the disaster, teams from Waco, Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin were en route to respond to this disaster,” said Mark Felton, executive director of the American Red Cross Heart of Texas Chapter. “Just like we were here at first notice, the Red Cross will continue to be here as the people of West take the next steps.” 

As those who had homes damaged or destroyed in West continue to work on their long term recovery plan, the Red Cross will continue to be of assistance, providing the means for families to rent new homes, replacing prescription medications and eyeglasses and other services. The Joint Assistance Center in West at 2547 Jerry Mashek Road will be open through Friday, May 3. Red Cross caseworkers will continue to work with families in West to ensure that individual needs are addressed. 

For more information on how the Red Cross is responding in West, citizens can call the help hotline at (254) 826-7550 or the Red Cross Heart of Texas at (800) 733-2767. 

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

Hooey Hats of Austin

• Hooey Hats of Austin, TX has designed a custom Hooey hat to benefit those impacted by the West, Texas tragedy. A portion of the sales will be donated to the West, Texas Disaster Relief Efforts Fund.
• Please visit the West, Texas Disaster Relief Efforts Fund Facebook page for more information. 

There are probably other sites/organizations helping out, let me know if you know of any others.

Hear the Willie Nelson & Family 80th Birthday Concert broadcast LIVE on SiriusXM Willie’s Roadhouse from The Backyard at Bee Cave on Sunday 4/28 9 pm ET with an encore rebroadcast on Willie’s birthday Tuesday 4/30 8 pm ET.  The concert will be a joint benefit for the Abbott, TX and West, TX volunteer fire departments to replace equipment lost in the fertilizer plant explosion last week.

Donations can also be made directly to the Abbott Volunteer Fire Dept., P.O. Box 24, Abbott, TX 76621 and the West Volunteer Fire Dep’t, P.O. Box 461, West, TX 76691.

Photo of Abbott Methodist Church, by Monique Claus

The Abbott Methodist Church invites you to it’s service next Sunday, October, 21, 2012.

The Abbott Methodist and it’s members have established a scholarship program in 2007  to assist local high school students with their post-high school education.    All students are eligible for the scholarship, not just kids with the best grades, or only those involved in sports or other activities, etc.  The Church wanted every student to have a chance to receive a scholarship.

To date, the scholarship program has given out $72,000.00 dollars in scholarships to local students.    The scholarship is funded by donations. If you would like to contribute towards the Church’s scholarship program:

Abbott Methodist Church P.O. Box 105 Abbott, Tx 76621

Abbott Methodist Church invites you to their service on Sunday, June 3, 2012, at 10:45.  If you are in the area, come by.

The church is on Facebook,