Charity is twice blessed &045; it blesses the ones who gives and the one who receives. I am not sure where or at what age I heard that statement, but it sure does ring true in the last week-and-a-half.

As citizens of the United States we have been asked to overcome a tragedy of epic proportions. A hurricane devastated our southern states and has killed or left homeless hundreds of thousands of men, women and children.

In the last few days, the Albert Lea Tribune has listed many ways you can contribute to help survivors. There are many agencies and charities working hard to help our neighbors in the south. People have been very concerned and generous in their efforts to help.

If you are one of the many who have given of your time or through contributions, let me say thank you. If you haven’t helped, but are able, here are some things to consider:

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If you know where your children are &045; You should help

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If you still have children alive &045; You should help.

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If you know where your house is &045; You should help.

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If you still have a house &045; You should help.

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If you ever lost a loved one &045; You should help.

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If you ever have lost all your worldly possessions &045; You should help.

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If you still have all your worldly possessions &045; You should help.

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If you drank clean water today &045; You should help.

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If you ate food today &045; You should help.

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If you have clothes &045; You should help.

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If you are still employed &045; You should help.

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If you dropped off your kids at school today &045; You should help.

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If your kids took the bus to school today &045; You should help.

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If your kids have a school still standing &045; You should help.

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If your grandchildren are alive &045; You should help.

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If your grandparents are alive &045; You should help.

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If you know where all your family members are today &045; You should help.

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If you ever woke up alone, abandoned, and scared &045; You should help.

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If you smiled today &045; You should help.

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If you know where you’re going to live today, tomorrow, or forever &045; You should help.

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If you ever had a dream for your kids &045; You should help.

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If you ever had a dream for yourself &045; You should help.

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If you ever rebuilt anything in your life &045; You should help.

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If your dreams ever crashed in on you &045; You should help.

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If your prayers have ever been answered &045; You should help.

I just listed 25 reasons why people with the means should help during this tragedy.

Now I will ask you to close your eyes and think about either your own reasons or one from the list I provided and get up and see what power you have as one person to change the outlook for thousands of people who need our help, and who are really no different from the rest of us &045; they have similar hopes and dreams for their lives and families.

(Scott Schmeltzer is the publisher of the Albert Lea Tribune. Look for his column each Monday.)