Good people experience a sense of helplessness when others face tragedy.
What to do?
There is a natural urge to connect to someone else’s pain. That’s empathy, and the guilt that comes with being whole and safe, and the fear that the unthinkable really does happen.
So it plays out, through accredited and social media, in the wake of the bus crash in Saskatchewan last week that killed 15 members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team.
What to do?
The outpouring of messages from around the globe, directed at those impacted by the disaster but also to all Canadians, is overwhelming.
Hockey teams from around the world are finding ways to honor the players who were killed, their loved ones, and the survivors. They are changing jerseys and holding moments of silence and pledging solidarity with a small western town.
The Queen sent a letter. President Trump tweeted.
So far more than $7 million has been raised through a gofundme page to support the affected families.
This Thursday, April 12, is “jersey day” and people are encouraged to wear a sports jersey to show support.
Responding to a tweet, every one from BC hockey families to NHL teams are placing sticks outside the front door.
The tweet just said: “Leaving it out on the porch tonight. The boys might need it … wherever they are.”
All of these things help good people grieve, and feel comforted, and overcome the helplessness.
Aside from the financial contribution, they are not all that practical, though.
Here is an idea that results from Homboldt’s devastation that is emphatically solid, and sensical, and that every single person can do to make a difference.
Sign your organ donor card and tell your family members that organ donation is important to you.
Logan Boulet, a 21-year-old defenseman from Lethbridge, Alberta, died of the injuries he sustained in the crash.
He had, just weeks previously, made the decision to be an organ donor. As a result six people he never met are being given a chance at life.
That’s a living legacy.
Only 20 per cent of Canadians have made the decision that was Boulet’s. Most people agree with organ donation in principal, but don’t manage to put that ideology onto paper.
Since Boutlet’s story was widely publicized, there has been a noted increase in the number of Canadians stepping up to say: you can have my organs.
You can become a donor by registering at any ICBC office, or office of BC Services.
You can also register online. Go to http://www.transplant.bc.ca.
Wear the jersey, put your sticks on your porch, but do this while remembering that 4,500 people in this country are waiting on a life saving organ transplant.
It’s entirely possible at least one of them is a young man in hospital, fighting to recover from a devestating bus crash, and the last thing he remembers is getting ready for a hockey game.