Hitting Home

My nephew, Ryan, is one of the lucky ones. He lost everything in the wake of Hurricane Katrina — everything except his life.

He and five of his friends, all 2004 graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design, moved to a house in New Orleans’ 9th Ward in October of last year to pursue a collective dream of making art and films together. While rundown and desperately in need of repair, the home that these six struggling sculptors, visual artists, painters, multi-media artists, and filmmakers occupied was, in and of itself, a work of art. It was filled to the rafters with every kind of art you could imagine — and some you couldn’t.

Once news about the severity of the storm was reported, my nephew and his five housemates piled into one compact car with their four cats and little more than the clothes on their backs, and made it out of the city just before Katrina made landfall. Their neighbor in New Orleans, who owned the house they were living in, called a few days later to tell them that their home was completely destroyed. She said there was no point in coming back since all their possessions were lost when the roof flew off the house and the flood waters came in. Besides losing their home, they lost all the irreplaceable artwork they had been working on, the tools of their trade, and their part-time jobs. Still, they were fortunate. Besides getting out of New Orleans in time, they all had safe havens to escape to. So many victims of Hurricane Katrina did not have the means to leave the city, and were not fortunate enough to have families to turn to.

You won’t find any other mention of Hurricane Katrina in this issue of Travel Goods Showcase because all of the editorial except this page went to press a day before the hurricane hit. Immediately following the devastation, TGA began discussions with the American Red Cross, AmeriCares and the Salvation Army to determine how TGA and the travel goods community could best serve the specific needs of the countless victims of this heart-breaking tragedy. Following those discussions, TGA encouraged its members, in a special TGA News E-lert, to make cash donations as in-kind product donations were not yet being accepted. A few days later, TGA learned that the relief organizations we had contacted were now able to accept in-kind bulk donations under certain circumstances. TGA then initiated an industry-wide effort to supply victims of the hurricane with travel bags. Within a matter of hours, we had heard back from many TGA members, including Badanco, BVT Products, Cabin Cuddler, Eagle Creek Travel Gear, eBags, Edwards Luggage, En Route Travelware, High Sierra Sport Company, InGear, It’s…In The Bag, Luggage Online, NLDA, Skyway, Style Living Corp., and Travelon.

As relief efforts continue in the Gulf Coast communities of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, we remain committed to serving the needs of the countless victims of this catastrophe by matching requests for travel bags with company donations. Requests for travel bags are coming in to us everyday from shelters throughout the U.S. Now is the time for you to act. If you have quantities of travel bags (regular or excess inventory, useable returns, irregulars, etc.) and are interested in being a part of this important industry initiative, we need to hear from you as to the number of pieces, type, location of product, and a company contact. TGA’s goal is to match product with need and localize the distribution effort as much as possible. Please provide TGA’s Cathy Hays (cathy@travel-goods.org, 609-720-1200, ext. 207) with that information so that TGA and the entire travel goods community can act in unison to help those who are in need.

Editor-in-chief