Book-DVD combo raising funds for Dixie flood victims

ST. GEORGE — Thousands of people are anxious to help homeowners along the Santa Clara and Virgin rivers who lost everything in the January floods.

A book and DVD combo documenting the devastating event is expected to raise more than $350,000, which will be distributed to the flood victims by a nonprofit group organized for that express purpose.

"I've had more people than you can count on one hand come up to me and give me $1,000 for one book," said Lon Henderson, who first thought of documenting the floods in a book and DVD and helped with the donation effort.

Dozens of people signed on to be part of the volunteer project and vowed to produce the book and DVD within a 30-day time frame. They not only made the deadline, they're helping to sell the four-color, 140-page softcover book at nine locations around Washington County.

"I was a little surprised at how fast they're moving," Henderson said Monday, just three days after the book arrived in St. George from the Salt Lake City publisher.

Ten thousand copies of the book, entitled "Portraits of Loss: Stories of Hope; The 2005 Santa Clara-Virgin River Flood," and DVD were produced. As of Monday afternoon, said Henderson, at least half of that inventory is in the hands of people who want to remember the life-changing event.

"We're grateful for the demand and that so many people are buying it," he said.

While a $35 minimum donation is expected to purchase the combination, most people are giving much more. The average donation, according to the book committee's Web site (www.utahfloodrelief.com), is about $140. The book and DVD can also be ordered on the Internet.

Few homeowners were covered by flood insurance and there is no federal assistance available to help those people recover from their losses. A second printing of the book and DVD could be considered since the initial press run is expected to sell out, Henderson said.

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com