How to Help Victims of Katrina

[trlong]

Bird,

1st, thanks for re-directing me to this thread.

2nd, the outpouring of support and donations is heartening. VT just held a statewide collection and had to extend it through tomorrow as they could not handle all the food, water, clothing, etc., ... that is being donated. They are trying to pull together a convoy of 18-wheeler's to carry down the relief.

Thank God for all the good that comes out in a crisis and we should all try not to dwell on the bad that the media loves to repeat, ad nauseum.

Tom

 

[Hakim]

From my friend Direct Marketing Expert Bob Serling,

"I've just been told about a list of relief agencies who
have been approved as highly ethical and complying
with a strict set of standards to ensure that money
people donate to the relief effort for the victims of
Hurricane Katrina actually gets to the people who
need it the most.

There's a comprehensive web site that not only details
what relief organizations are currently engaged in the
Gulf coast region, but also describes the scope and
scale of their activities.

Please take a few minutes out of your weekend to
take a look at this list and make as generous a
contribution as you can today.

Recovery from this disaster will be a long, multi-stage
process, but there is an immediate need right now to
provide food, water, and medical attention to the people
who have lost their homes and means of support.

This is the best list I've found of groups that are
in the region and doing what needs to be done right now."

http://www.interaction.org/katrina

Please copy and paste this message to friends, family
and colleagues. Time is of the essence.

Thanks,

Bob Serling, Editor
Direct Marketing Insider"

 

[pajoube]

From experience I have found the following to be agencies that get the money to those that need with very low administration fees (most important).
Rotary Foundation
Lutheran Disaster Response
Salvation Army.
There are many others that offer very low handling fees but you must be careful that the money goes to what it is intended.
All of the above is tax deductable.
PJ

 

[BigDogues]

If you are interested in checking out a charity's ratings you can look here at charity navigator.

 

[Alan L.]

Our church did a special offerning today for Katrina victims. We raised $22,000 today from only about 500 attendees (including children). The funds will be sent to two churches in upper Louisiana and the Clear Lake area of Houston. Between the two churches they are putting up more than 500 refugees indefinitely.

We also emptied the pantry and are collecting food and blankets to be sent a few miles north in Denison, Tx where some of the refugees are being taken in.

 

[EastTexFrank]

We decided to keep our help a little closer to home when we found out that our mostly rural county already had 127 evacuees with more expected to arrive by bus on Sunday. I thought it strange at fist that when our State Rep and County Judge put out a call for help they contacted the Women's Organizations first. I don't find it strange anymore. Those ladies can flat out get something organized, up and running in no time flat. When I finished running my collection route and arrived at the refuge site, they were already diverting pick-up trucks full of stuff to storage facilities because they couldn't handle any more on the location. The generosity of the American people in a crisis is really amazing and heartwarming.

 

[mikim]

Have a refugee ---- sorry ---- evacuee (gotta stay pc) staying at my house for about 30 days anyway. She works for the NWS in N.O. and her husband is a friend of mine going back 20 + years. I drove her over to her apt. in Kenner on Tues. Lots of wind damage in that area but didn't see any flood damage. The shingles on her apt building were blown off - no felt under 'em - and the roof then leaked like a sieve. Her apt was second floor and the ceiling in her bedroom was on the floor - other than water damage from that - she is going to be able to recover just about everything. We loaded up my pickup -- shoulda taken a trailer but didn't know how much had survived -- and she went back again today to get what we left. Hope she doesn't fall asleep at the wheel.
We left my house Mon night about 6pm.... got to Baton Rouge around 11 - sat in the truck (no rooms anywhere) til 0430 then drove into Kenner. (advertised hours of entry were 6am - 6pm) Loaded her stuff - went to the airport to recover the gov't van and equipment - then drove home arriving about 7pm Tues eve. I took yesterday off work to recover. She'll be working out of the Houston office here til further notice.

 

[slowrev]

beware, I just read that there are at least 2,300 internet scams already about donating to Katrina victims.

Ben