Helping Shawn Powers

Shawn Powers, who edits Linux Journal and is a friend to geeks everywhere, lost his house to a fire today. Scalzi says:

Shawn Powers, a friend of Whatever and also a frequent commenter here, has had a very bad day: His house has burned up. The good news is Shawn, his wife and children are safe; unfortunately their pets were victims of the fire.

Friends and co-workers have set up a place for other friends and concerned folks to chip in to help Shawn and his family get through this really terrible moment in their lives: It’s here. If you have a bit to spare, I’d appreciate you thinking about sparing it. There are also more details about today’s events at the link.

Thanks, and feel free to spread the word.

This is me spreading the word. I've never met Shawn in person, but we've traded lengthy e-mails and he's a really good guy. There's a whole lot of you reading this, so if even a fraction of you throw some change – seriously, just a buck – in his direction, it'll all add up and really help out a lot. At the very least, please take a moment to spare a thought for Shawn and his family.

16 thoughts on “Helping Shawn Powers”

  5. Thanks for letting us know Wil. Had the same thing happen to me a couple years ago. Where is a good address (URL or snail) to send money? Let me know! Happy to help out

  8. You are a good guy, Wil Wheaton. Now I’m really glad I had all those posters of you when I was 12 😉
    In all seriousness though, all of us at Linux Journal are incredibly taken aback by the generosity of our community. Our readers, twitter followers and Shawn’s friends have all gone above and beyond both in spreading the word and with their contributions. We all adore Shawn, and are sad we can’t completely fix this horrible situation, but the outpouring of support has impressed us all and hopefully made things a little bearable for Shawn, Donna and the girls.
    Thanks again for helping spread the word.

  11. I second what @KatherineD said. I too am with Linux Journal and Shawn is like our little brother.
    I’m collecting hardware to send to Shawn and his family too. He’s got 3 “tween” girls who would be tickled to have some basic, modern materials in their possession right about now, I can only assume. If anyone has old iPods, digital cameras, Flips, etc., considering donating them to the Powers girls. You can email me at [email protected] and I’ll help set it up.
    Wil, thank you tremendously…

  12. I had the same thing happen to me when I was 19 – our family home suffered a huge fire, and I (as well as my mum and younger brother) were lucky to escape with our lives. We were lucky that our pets also survived, but I can understand the absolute heartbreak Shawn and his family must be feeling. Sending positive thoughts that they find strength in this difficult time.

  14. Thanks, Wil. I also work at Linux Journal – I’m completely and utterly amazed at the outpouring of love and support for our Shawn. He really is a great guy – thank you so much for making this post for him. We get sporadic updates from him, mostly saying that he and his family are completely and utterly thankful by all the love and support.
    You’re a good egg, Wil Wheaton 🙂

  15. Thank you, Wil for bringing this to our attention. My house burned down when I was a kid and I know how hard it can be in the aftermath. It’s a really nice service that you’re doing for Shawn by passing the word along for him and his family. And you’re absolutely right, even if everyone chipped in five, ten or twenty dollars, it makes a huge difference if enough people chip in.
    As for Shawn (if you’re reading this), the most important thing to remember is that no one was hurt (or worse), with the exception of your furkids, which I know has to be very hard on you, your wife and children. I know all too well how much it sucks to have to be uprooted for an indeterminate amount of time, but things can be replaced, and trust me when I say that you’ll get through this. It’ll take some time, but you will. If anything, your faith in your fellow human will become something that you can rely on, and you’re going to need a lot of that support system in the next coming months. You’ll be in my thoughts and I’ll continue to spread the word about your plight in my own blog. I wish you nothing but the best of luck for you for the rest of 2010. Namaste, friend.

  16. Everyone — I just got broadband installed in our rental place today, so I finally have an opportunity to respond in person to the amazing outpouring of love my family has received these past few days. Wil, thank you for bringing attention to the efforts my coworkers have done to raise cash for us. Even though we have insurance, I’m amazed at the expenses involved, and with the length of time insurance claims take to process. While I can’t believe the generosity we’ve been shown, I further can’t believe how great our immediate needs have been. So thank you, all, from the bottom of my heart. My family only knows bits and pieces of how much and how many people are loving on them. It’s unfair that I’m the only one that gets to watch them discover it first hand. 🙂
    Oh, and Wil, while we have exchanged enough emails and such that I certainly wouldn’t feel odd having lunch with you in real life (heck, I’ll be in LA next month) — I must admit, there would still probably be times between french fries that I couldn’t help but exclaim, “DUDE, YOU WERE ON FRIGGEN STAR TREK!!!!!” In fact, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if you do that on your own from time to time. Poor Anne. 🙂
    Thanks again everyone. Humans rock.

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