Memorial Day weekend of 2024, a block-long building in Alpine, Texas, burned to the ground.
In a small town, that’s just horrible. There was a cooperative art gallery, bakery and cafe, hair salon, antique shop, and jewelry store located in the historic structure. As you can imagine, the store owners were in shock. Some said they had no insurance, including the building owner (who also had a shop.)
When I was speaking in Alpine this month (July 2024), I met the director of the Alpine Historical Society. They set up a bank account for donations for the businesses and their employees right away.
They said, “The initial focus of this fund will be to assist the affected businesses in relocating and reestablishing operations quickly in nearby facilities and restore income for those affected. Funds will be directed to those businesses that secure new locations, ensuring they can resume serving our community without undue delay.”
And they created this mural.
Alpine Historical Society is acting in an Idea Friendly Way. Gathering their crowd around getting the businesses back to work. Building Connections by reaching out to everyone. And Taking Small Steps with a place for donations and building a mural.
You can stand around forever, wring your hands, and say poor me. Or you can decide to get into action, be Idea Friendly, and do something.