Three Ways to Help Victims of Hurricane Katrina:

Catholic Charities USA Collecting Donations for Recovery Efforts

Catholic Charities USA is collecting financial donations to help communities recover from the damage brought on by Hurricane Katrina. Donations will be used to fund local Catholic Charities agencies’ emergency and long-term disaster recovery efforts in areas hit by the hurricane.
Catholic Charities USA, which has been commissioned by the U.S. Catholic Bishops to represent the Catholic community in times of domestic disaster, responds with emergency and long-term assistance as needed. Its Disaster Response Office connects the Church’s social service agencies and disaster planning offices across the nation.

To contribute to the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Fund:
Call (800) 919-9338
Visit online
Send checks toCatholic Charities USA2005 Hurricane Relief FundPO Box 25168Alexandria, VA 22313-9788
Catholic Charities USA is unable to accept contributions of food, clothing, blankets and other relief supplies. Its federal ID number is 53-0196620.

From the website of the American Red Cross:

Wednesday, August 31, 2005 — When a disaster of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina strikes and the news broadcasts images of broken, battered and destroyed homes, it is natural for the public to be eager to help their neighbors – whether they’re across town or across the country. Often, seeing that they have lost everything, people are eager to donate food, clothing or other goods to meet the needs of storm victims and help the affected families begin to replace what they have lost.

"While that generous spirit is truly appreciated, the American Red Cross cannot accept this type of donation for the victims it is serving," said Amanda Lepof, an American Red Cross In-Kind Officer.

Today, the Red Cross is operating more than 250 shelters across seven states, providing a safe haven for nearly 42,000 evacuees – many who have been left homeless by Katrina. The first priority is meeting the urgent, critical needs of those people, which include providing emergency shelter, food and water.

"In-kind donations are best when they come from companies that can provide new items in a quantity that meets the mass care needs of victims – for example, Anheuser-Busch is again donating canned water for hurricane victims and response workers," said Lepof. "Unsolicited, spontaneous donations of goods and services from individuals and community groups, although well intentioned, have hidden costs and pose a number of complications for initial relief efforts."

For these reasons, the Red Cross is unable to accept any large collections of items, such as used clothing, hygiene items, furniture, toys, blankets, and canned goods. Nor is it able to accept small, individual donations of these items.

Why does the Red Cross discourage donations of collected goods and individual items for disaster relief?

Collections of items require valuable and scarce resources such as time, money, and personnel to sort, clean, and distribute them, which come at the expense of the emergency activities relief workers are attempting to perform. The Red Cross has neither the resources, nor the logistical set-up, to properly handle these types of donations, and therefore cannot accept them.
In addition, because the organization has no way of knowing what spontaneous individual donations or unsolicited collections of items will consist of, and therefore cannot ensure there will be enough of a particular item to distribute it equitably, or if the donated products will even be appropriate for the relief effort.

Shipping donated goods is also costly and particularly difficult in the aftermath of a disaster, as roads are often damaged or impassable, and easily clogged with shipments of non-priority items. The Red Cross makes every attempt to procure items locally to save money by minimizing transportation and storage costs.

“We don’t want to discourage people who want to help,” said Lepof. “But, making a financial gift to support the relief operations really is the best way for people to help after a disaster like this.”
Monetary financial contributions enable the Red Cross to support the greatest needs in the most efficient manner. Cash can be used to purchase items in adjacent, staging areas and eliminate the added costs involved in transporting goods.

Where can donations of collected goods and individual items be most effective?

Individual donations of goods and collections of items are put to their best possible use, and have the greatest impact economically, when they are donated to local charitable organizations within the local community. Donating locally eliminates transportation costs and ensures disaster workers are not overwhelmed with sorting unsolicited donations and are free to perform priority relief activities. Because these local agencies are not operating in the crisis environment that characterizes disaster relief, the charity will have the time sort, clean, and repair goods and identify how and where they can be most beneficial.

Guidelines for Effective Giving in Support of Disaster Relief

Before beginning any sort of collection drive, it is important to first call a charitable agency and confirm that there is a need for the donation and that they are able to accept it. Several organizations active in disaster relief have published guidelines that offer practical advice on steps that should be taken prior to starting a collection drive or purchasing items to donate to disaster relief.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of this disaster and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish).

Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.

And finally...

SALVATION ARMY BRINGING RELIEF TO SURVIVORS OF HURRICANE KATRINA
Currently, The Salvation Army is providing relief to residents and first responders in Hattiesburg, Miss., Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans, La. Additional Salvation Army emergency disaster services vehicles (canteens) are staged in surrounding areas and are prepared to be deployed to other affected areas once emergency management officials determine it safe. The Salvation Army is prepared to serve 500,000 meals a day as well as provide emotional and spiritual support to those trying to recover from Katrina’s wrath.

Salvation Army centers in Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans, La., have become safe havens to 500 people who were evacuated due to the storms. The Salvation Army is providing shelter and food to evacuees, many of whom have no where else to go since the storm annihilated countless homes in its destructive path. Salvation Army canteens are serving hot meals to residents and first responders throughout Mobile and in Hattiesburg, Miss.

More than 250 Salvation Army volunteers, employees and officers (ministers) will be providing aid from at least 100 canteens that will each be able to provide up to 5,000 meals a day. The Salvation Army has staged its two 54-foot mobile kitchens in Baton Rouge, La., and Mobile, Ala. They will be moved to other affected areas once emergency responders determine safe locations.

The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) has been tirelessly working to provide information concerning the health and welfare of affected residents to anxious family members and loved ones. In one day SATERN received more than 600 health and welfare requests. Health and welfare inquiry forms may be found at www.salvationarmyusa.org

At this time The Salvation Army is only asking for monetary donations. A $100 donation will feed a family of four for two days, provide two cases of drinking water and one household clean-up kit.

Monetary donations may be sent your local Salvation Army earmarked “Disaster Relief,” made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

'Nuff said. Now go do it.