Sunday, January 12, 2025

Helping Consultants in the LA Area - This is What Communities Do

 Time for the IT Community to Step Up!


I'm sorry to interrupt your cheery new year with this, but there are times when you just have to do something.


In the LA area, as of this writing, more than ten thousand people have lost their homes. And many thousands of businesses have been burnt to the ground.


My heart goes out to everyone who lost all of their belongings, all of their family photos, and the homes their children grew up in. I'm a little sad about all the media attention on lists of famous people who lost their homes. We should have compassion for them. But we need to remember the tens of thousands of others who lost their houses and businesses.


Disasters happen all the time. But every once in a while, there's one so big that our individual efforts just aren't enough. That's when community really matters. I am grateful to be a member of many communities that have the ability - and the heart - to help in a very special way at times like this. YOU are probably a member of some or all of these organizations:


And, of course, you probably know of many others.


How can you help? It's easy. ASK what's needed. Offer what you can.


All of those groups have forums. Post something. Ask how you can help. IT organizations are uniquely positioned to help each other. We share a lot of common knowledge and skill sets. Consider a few ways you can help IT consultants in the LA area who have lost their offices and perhaps their homes. Most of their clients are going through the same thing.


  • Offer to let an LA area IT company forward their phones to your number for a week or two.


  • Offer to ship emergency hardware, if it's useful.


  • Offer to work X hours worth of tickets, especially urgent needs.

  • Or take some low-priority tickets so they can focus on the emergencies.


  • See if you can get a login to their ticketing system and help them out free of charge.


  • What else can you think of?


If you need help and you're not sure who might be able to help:


  • Contact me. I will try to match you with someone who can help.


  • Post on one of those forums above. If you're a member, you have the info you need. If you're not a member, today's a good day to join.



One of the first true, massive disasters where I remember the community stepping up was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Today, we can do so much more to help each other. Just do it.


Let compassion be the word of the day.


Thank you all. Take care. And take care of others. That's what communities do.


:-)


1 comment:

  1. Anonymous10:22 PM

    Karl, Fantastic idea.
    The National Society of IT Service Providers is with you all the way.

    ReplyDelete

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