The company that started the personal DNA testing revolution, Family Tree DNA, is displaying this banner on their home page.
That’s right, their headquarters are in Houston and they are donating a portion of their sales in September for Hurricane Harvey relief.
Bennett Greenspan, ftDNA CEO points out the Tecan machine, which adds chemicals to extract the DNA
So if you were dithering about testing your Y, or buying an upgrade to the tests you have done, now is the time to go for it. Also their kit uses a cheek swab which is much easier for your elderly relatives than the spit kits from other companies, plus they preserve the DNA for future tests. So get some of their autosomal test kits too (“family finder” kits). Stock up!
In that same spirit, I will also donate all of the September affiliate income that I get when you click on my links to Family Tree DNA and then buy from their site. (Yes their name is always an affiliate link.)
In case you missed it, I got a wonderful tour of their facility when I visited in 2015 and can vouch that their 8th floor, North loop location is free of flooding. However many of their employees were affected and I heard tales of 4 and 5 hour commutes initially. Today, for some, the commute was almost normal. Houston strong!
Many people here in Houston lost everything and did not have flood insurance. You may ask ” Why not?” Not everyone who was flooded was impacted by rising rivers/creeks/bayous. In many cases it was just too much water for the drainage system to handle. In my area we received 40 to 50 inches over 4 days. 15 inches came in one 3 hour period. Enough to get 8.5 inches in the house. High enough to ruin 99% of the furniture and cause us to rip out 4 feet of sheet rock on every interior wall. I still have 1 room left to gut and hopefully will be done today. Many people are in worse shape than we are so every little bit that can help them will be greatly appreciated. Thank You.
Thanks for explaining Bill. Family Tree DNA raised over 20K in September which is great. My affiliate fees were a mere $16, so I will round that up to the magic jewish number of 18 and send it in