Floods Can't Stop Christmas.
My name is Jamie Thomas. I produce disc golf content for TheSpinTV, and I design and sell DiscGolfParks on the side. I'm also proud to call Baton Rouge, Louisiana my hometown. The story I'm sharing with you is my experience in the 1000-year flood that rocked the city and parish to its core in August 2016.
This campaign is about the greater disc golf community coming together to spread the gospel of frisbee with those who are still in the long, soul-crushing process of recovery from this tragedy.
If you'd like to skip the story and see the nuts and bolts of our fundraising campaign, scroll to the very bottom. I promise to outline the "what" very clearly there. If you are like me, and you need to know the "why" - please read on:
2016 has been a tragic and unprecedented year for the people of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Toward the begining of the year the Mississippi River encroached upon the city, causing spillways to be opened and farmland to be flooded. In July Alton Sterling was controversially killed by BRPD. Shortly thereafter a domestic terrorism incident claimed the lives of BRPD Officers Gerald and Jackson, along with Sheriff's Deputy Garafola. In the first 7 months, my city had been divided geographically, racially, and politically.
...and while we desperately yearned for our LSU Tigers to take the field and a return to some sort of normalcy in September, we still hadn't made it through August.
08.06.16 - Disc Golf's Re-Birthday.
I happened to be in Baton Rouge in early August. We had finally arrived at a day I (along with many others) had been working towards for the last 2 years. The Grand Opening of the first DiscGolfPark in the state. Partnering Louisiana Healthcare Connections, BREC (Parks Dept.), and Kingfish Disc Golf we installed and opened a 7600' Par 61 disc golf course in a beautiful park adjacent to some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. 
Some of our volunteer force skipped a nearby tournament to attend the Grand Opening - and BREC thanked them with a commemorative disc!
We had big plans for this venue and community. We planned to host progressively bigger events to bring tourism revenue to local businesses, add disc golf back into BREC's summer camp curriculum, and use it as a tool to get kids both off of the street and off of the couch.
but only a few days later, everything changed.
08.12.16 - The day the rains came.
The sky was a flat, medium-grey blanket that stretched past the horizon, ominious, but not quite dark enough to instill the notion of immediate danger. Down in the Sportsman's Paradise we've grown accustomed to summertime showers roaring in on dark, imposing thunderheads. These storms bombard us quickly before giving way to vibrant green leaves glistening in the golden hues of magic hour.
The subdued, slow-moving gray mass should have been a red flag. All around us the water began to rise, rapidly approaching flood stage.
The whole night was restless.
My family and I wrestled with the decision during the evening hours - do we leave or stay? Where do we go? Some roads were already closed around the city due to high water. We agreed to sleep on it, and assess in the morning.
Big mistake.
Sleep was elusive. Every 45 minutes I was jolted awake by the emergency alerts coming through on my phone. Flash Flood Warnings based on my phone's GPS location. I stared out the window into the darkness, wondering where the water was, and how close it was creeping under the cover of night.
8.13.16 - 7AM - A Knock At The Door
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"We're trapped. Just figured y'all should know," was our neighbors' greeting. Sure enough, overnight both roads leading out of our neighborhood were already submerged, with an alarmingly fast current washing over the asphalt I had just driven on 12 hours prior.
8.13.16 - 12:30PM - The National Guard
As you may notice, words begin to fail. The blanket grey sky is unchanged, as if this could go on indefinitely. In fact, if you look at the flood stage chart above, we were still ~14' and 36 hours from the crest.
8.13.16 - 4:30PM - The Cajun Navy
Our first responders were understandably overwhelmed. The flooding blocked the interstates, so reinforcements for those brave men and women couldn't arrive in time. People had to get out, and rescue crews couldn't get to everyone.
So what did we do? We rescued each other. The Cajun Navy was a group of people who saw their friends, their neighbors, and fellow Louisianians in trouble and didn't wait for someone else to do something about it. They put rafts, canoes, fishing boats...anything they had into the water and went to get those who were still stuck in their homes.
Huffington Post and CNN wrote about them. My family is indebted to them. That selfless attitude of neighborly love is something so rare these days...and they have become my inspiration.
I tell my story and experiences in this tragedy not for pity. Truthfully we were lucky. My parents' house wasn't affected as badly as some, and they will be able to move back in hopefully by Summer 2017.
What about those who weren't so fortunate? What about our course and all of our plans?
The Disc Golf (and Fundraising) Tie-In.
All of the videos I took were in the 70816, on the eastern edge of that zone, just south of I-12.
Where is the course from the Grand Opening? The "I-110" sign on the northern edge of the 70805 is right on top of it...adjacent to the most heavily damaged area. The course itself took on water, but quickly dried out, and was playable the following week.
70805's Per Capita Income is <$15k, which is $9k below the Baton Rouge average.
My first thought when I saw this was, "How will they afford Christmas Gifts for their children and loved ones?"
This is my answer.
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The Nuts and Bolts of the Campaign.
I've teamed up with Innova Champion Discs to address this issue. They're offering, at a huge discount, to put together 100 flying disc "care packages" and ship them directly to Baton Rouge.
BREC will receive the discs and coordinate the cheerful gift wrapping process, as well as delivering the presents to families in the affected areas, complete with information about the course and...
A free disc golf clinic and fun round hosted by Kingfish Disc Golf, during the winter holidays so that kids can attend and be introduced to not only the course and the sport, but also the welcoming community of disc golfers.
Our Fundraising Goal: $1,600.00
Cost Breakdown
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$1,200 - 100ct. 3-disc care packages by Innova. Inside will be two beginner friendly golf discs, as well as the Kahuna, a catch disc for the whole family to enjoy.
$100 - Wrapping supplies - paper, bows, etc. YOUR gifts to the kids and parents in Baton Rouge will be wrapped and delivered with love.
$150 - to cover GoFundMe's fees. Their fee structure is approximately 10% all said and done.
$150 - another approximately 10% contingency, "just in case" unforseen events happen. (see below for important note)
Important Note: 100% of money donated will be used for this project. Not one penny will be pocketed if we go above our goal. We are unlikely without (heavier logistical reinforcements) to expand the number of care packages we order, becuase that's only half of the battle. We want to make sure that we connect the people receiving the presents to the disc golf community itself, not just drop gifts and run. This is about the people, not the plastic.
If we raise more than $1,600: We will explore options to provide food, entertainment (face-painting, balloon twisting, etc.), and extra fun for anybody that can attend the clinic and fun round.
If we raise less than $1,600: Don't worry! This will still happen! Innova and I have worked a contingency plan for a 2-disc care package to fit any budget shortage for this project.
Finally, I just want to thank each and every one of y'all for taking the time to view this and even consider participating. $16 will give someone hope, that despite their awful year in 2016, that 2017 will be better. It will also connect people to a growing community that I'm proud to personally be a part of, as it's a community that has big plans for our city and our state, and an unquenchable thirst for MORE DISC GOLF!
So thank you, for donating, for sharing, and for being a part of the change you want to see in the world - one small step at a time.
From me and mine to you and yours - happy holidays and God bless.
-Jamie