Direct from my raisin-sized heart

I know this is going to make my sound like a Grinch, but I encourage everyone to think very carefully before they give to the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

After 9/11, after Katrina, we learned two things about what happens when a tragedy gets intense national attention:

1) People forget about their local charities. It's only natural, really. We each have finite resources. If you're sending $20 or $50 to the American Red Cross or some other national charity, that's money that's not staying in your neighborhood. So smaller organizations suffer, and that's unfortunate because the need for their services doesn't lessen because of a national disaster.

2) Our attention spans are short. Once the news cameras leave Houston, the donations will dry up. And that, too, is unfortunate because the victims of Harvey will continue to need help well into 2018, and beyond.

So please, make sure that when you donate to a Harvey charity, it's not the only charity you support this month. And don't forget to keep donating, even after the leaves fall and the snow comes, and you may no longer be hearing about Houston every day.

Houston Food Bank

Houston Humane Society