My name is Shawn Goodfleisch.  I used to live in Louisville Ky. and moved to Pensacola Fl. in 2002. I moved here just in time to experience my very first hurricane (IVAN).  Hurricane IVAN was a devastating hurricane to north west Florida and South Alabama.  The part of the hurricane that impacted me the most was the aftermath.  Hurricane IVAN affected everyone the same no matter what economic level you were on.  Rich or poor we all were in the same boat.  Isolated from the rest of the world and left with our community turned up side down.  I think you can take a thousand pictures of the damage, but never really feel the effect until you drive mile after mole week after week and see that noting changes.  Roofs gone, trees down and the sound of generators running all day night.  During this time one try's to find some good from the situation.  If you live in Florida you always feel a loss of attachment due to everyone seems to have moved her form somewhere else.  This means not a whole lot of people grew up here.  To me, this always made me feel detached from the people around me.  Hurricane IVAN changed all that.  Because the destruction was so complete, survivors were more than willing to lend a helping hand to neighbors they never met and share food with people they never knew.  In just one day complete strangers had a common bond.  We all suffer a loss but we all suffered together.  That is what got up thru it together.

One this that struck me as kind of odd is, with all the good hearted people, why are there still people who have to stay in shelters?  I work a job where I am going into different homes everyday.  I see couples with no kids have huge home with plenty of extra space.  Nice people who would love to lend a helping hand.  There was just no way to connect them with people who needed help.  And so my site became a reality. I think because a lot of people have family so far out of town is why staying at a shelter is the only way to stay safe.  My vision is that this site connects people beyond just for emergency needs but makes bonds that last a life time.  I have met so many great people that don't know anyone and I have always thought that's a shame.  People with boats who have no one to go fishing with them.  I hope this site helps people take that first step to  meet the people right next door and out of harms way.  

I created the HELPFUL LINKS page out of trying to keep my parents computer running.  They live in Navarre and I live in Pensacola.  With all the problems that can happen to a computer if your not savvy... I had to go fix theirs a lot.  So I thought to myself, "what if there was a list of programs that would keep a computer running a peak performance?"  This list would have to be a true help page with no attempt to sell something.  Just pure free downloads that would help.  That is exactly what this page is.  I do know that if these pages help people they would be happy to donate something to my site.  And if not it still feels goo to help others out.  So email me and let me know if this stuff worked or you have a suggestion for me.  

In closing, this site is still in its early stages so there will be a lot of stuff being added soon. Thanks for reading and thanks for spreading the word!! We can really make a difference!

-Shawn Goodfleisch

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it