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by Ed Ryan

It’s our job to help our local community when a natural disaster strikes. We stay on the air, at times risking our own lives to make sure everyone else receives the information they need to stay safe. Now, one of our own needs our help. Cox/Birmingham employee Chris Coleman was on the air at WBHK 98.7 KISS-FM Wednesday afternoon when he realized a mega-tornado was headed straight for his house. Can you imagine the horror for Coleman, knowing two daughters were home alone, racing for the basement? The family had practiced a tornado drill that morning, just in case.As the tornado ripped Coleman’s house to shreds, all he could do was wait it out. A horrible feeling no one would ever want to experience. Once the weather settled, a relative raced to the home to find 14-year-old Aliya and 11-year-old Asia safe in the basement. But Coleman, with no way to communicate with his daughters, still didn’t know if they were all right. When he got to the home, he could finally breathe easy. His daughters are alive and safe.

Then the emotional roller coaster returned. He now has to cope with the fact that everything he owned is gone.

Coleman lost his house. He has nothing left but the clothes on his back. His daughters, who will be headed back to school soon, have nothing to wear. For sure, they are all grateful to be alive, as we should all be. As we go about our daily lives, getting ready for summer, watching and tweeting about a royal wedding, perhaps we can take a moment to help Chris and his family get back on their feet.

David Dubose, Cox Media Group Market Manager, has set up a PayPal account for Chris (below) where donations can be made so he can, at least, buy himself and his girls some clothes and the bare essentials to live. Perhaps get them a nice hotel room until they hear from the insurance company. 100% of the money collected will be given to Chris at the end of every day so we can help him and his girls quickly.

Whether you work for Clear Channel, Emmis, Cumulus, or an independent operator somewhere in a small market across America, this is a chance to lend a hand to someone who was only doing what every single one of us would do: his job. If everyone reading this gave a few bucks, it would make a colleague’s life just a little bit better.

Call 1-855-205-HELP (until midnight)

Text: TORNADO to 50555 to donate $10

ONLINE: PraiseHouston.com on the home page to donate online

If everyone donates a little, it will add up to a lot!