Help beat the heat!

Does your area have a fan drive?
Should you?

Fans collected from a recent fan drive.

 
In Austin for the last 23 years there has been a fan drive held by Family Eldercare. In 2012 Family Eldercare delivered 5,261 fans across 11 Texas counties. This year they anticipate delivering even more.

With temperatures rising many elderly or low income families can't afford to keep cool, a fan drive is one way to help. In many communities the Salvation Army also has fan drives.
Check around in your area to find out if there is a fan drive, or start your own.

Here are some tips for keeping cool this Summer:

Prepare yourself and your family for the heat...

• Slow down. Avoid strenuous activity. If you must do strenuous

activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually

in the morning between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.

• Stay indoors as much as possible. If air conditioning is not

available, stay on the lowest floor, out of the sunshine. Try to

go to a public building with air conditioning each day for several hours. Remember, electric fans do not cool the air, but they do help sweat evaporate, which cools your body.

• Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing. Light colors will reflect away some of the sun’s energy.

• Drink plenty of water regularly and often. Your body needs water to keep cool.

• Drink plenty of fluids even if you do not feel thirsty.

• Water is the safest liquid to drink during heat emergencies. Avoid drinks with alcohol or

caffeine in them. They can make you feel good briefly, but make the heat’s effects on your

body worse. This is especially true about beer, which dehydrates the body.

• Eat small meals and eat more often. Avoid foods that are high in protein, which increase

metabolic heat.

• Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician.

• Shade makes a difference! If you need to be in the sun for a long time, wear a visor or

light sun-hat.

• Light shoes are necessary for ultimate cooling. Avoid boots and high-tops. If your feet are cool,

so are you!

• A cool dip in the pool is a great way to cool off, and great exercise!

• ALWAYS wear sunscreen when you are going to be exposed to the sun's rays. Even a short

time in the sun can cause sunburns.

• Overcast days don't always mean you can't burn. Wear that sunscreen!

• If you are feeling faint, nauseous, weak or disoriented, seek medical help immediately.

Hyperthermia and heat-stroke are serious, and can lead to illness and even death.

Tiny things for the Tiniest of them all.

Donating Preemie clothing

No one ever expects a premature baby. No one is ever ready for one either.
In todays Simple things series we are going to discuss those teeny tiniest of babies, and a simple way you can help them.

Each year, nearly 500,000 babies are premature, or preemies. That's 1 of every 8 infants born in the United States. A premature birth is when a baby is born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks.
Preemies  are usually very small and no one ever buys preemie clothing in advance. Hospitals typically have some donated clothing on hand but often times it is very well worn.

 

 
If you have kids I bet you check the clearance rack every time you go shopping. Next time if you are looking and you see Preemie clothes add them to your cart. After you have a few, or the next time you take a trip to the hospital that has a NICU drop them off there. You will be helping out a family that has more than enough on their minds already.
I rarely have passed a clearance rack that doesn't have at least one item, and a lot of the time I can find something for as little as $1-$3.

Are you the parent of a Preemie? Then donate your used clothes back to the hospital after your little one grows out of them.
Do you love to knit, crochet or sew? Take those small scraps and make something cute in a preemie size and donate.

The big bonus to this is if your hospital has a nursery you get a peek at the babies when you drop off your donation!