In addition to the litany of issues caused by the winter storms, members of state leadership in Texas are also dealing with what Texas Tribune journalist Alana Rocha described to PBS NewsHour as “black eyes”: Sen. Ted Cruz and his family traveled to Cancún at the height of the storm, and it was later revealed that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state Senator Angela Paxton, took a trip to Utah as millions of Texans were without power.

For Lana de Leon, the disaster in Texas is very personal. She moved to Colorado from Texas in March, but her son is still in Austin. He didn’t have water or electricity for several days, so De Leon jumped at the opportunity to send supplies down south.

“I love you Colorado,” she said. “I love that you’re doing this.”

Lucas Garcia said he wanted to “show our neighbors they are not alone in this fight and they can depend on Colorado to come through again and help out down there.”

Garcia is the founder and former executive director of Compassionate Colorado, an organization formed in the early days of the pandemic in order to provide relief to indigenous communities, which have suffered disproportionately throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

In January, Compassionate Colorado traveled to New Mexico to deliver essential items like masks, food, and medical supplies to the Navajo Nation.

“Colorado has simply just answered every single time we’ve put that call out, and they’re willing to make a difference no matter where it’s at, [even] if it’s in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, South Dakota.” Garcia continued. “Now, we’re heading to Texas.”