Hurricane Katrina relief effort

[jokach]

The death and devastation from Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region of the United States is overwhelming. Please keep the people of that region in your thoughts and prayers each day as they live through this horror. Consider making a donation to the relief efforts through the American Red Cross using the below secure link:

https://secure2.convio.net/arc/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=1161

In this great time of need, be cautious of where you are donating money for this tragedy, especially over the internet. Its unfortunate that there are scammers out there trying to take advantage of this disaster and claiming to be taking donations over the internet for the relief effort, when they truly are not. Make sure wherever you donate, its a well-known, respectable organization.

jokach

[mercinary]

My wife and I donated $50 bucks this morning. It isn't a lot, but it is what we can afford. If everyone pitches in just a few bucks, it will really help the relief effort. The Red Cross is a good place to send the $$$ too, as you know that the great majority of it will go to relief efforts.

-Merc

[sigx97]

Being a scuba diver I have volunteered my services through the Tennessee Emergency Managment Association to be part of the recovery effort next week. I am not sure if my group will be chosen though.

[MatrixWatch]

Good for you sigx! :) That's great to hear.

And Merc, regarding the scammers taking advantage of the relief effort: Any chance that we could help to expose them here? I'm sure that we could get some exposure through google and help people to avoid them.

[mercinary]

We can certainly try to expose scams related to the relief effort. If anyone happens to see a sketchy relief-related email or website, feel free to post it here and we'll take a look into it.

-Merc

[jokach]

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recommends the following tips when considering making donations in the wake of a tragedy like this:


Evaluate appeals carefully. It's likely that many organizations will be responding to the disaster, so look at various options.

Watch for red flags such as high pressure to make an immediate donation, overly emotional appeals that are short on detail on how the funds will be used and evasive answers to questions about the organization.

Ask the organization how your donation will be used to directly alleviate conditions resulting from the hurricane and how much will be used for administration and fund raising. See if the solicitation explains what the charity intends to do with any excess contributions remaining after they have fully funded disaster relief activities.

Is the charity experienced in dealing with disaster recovery efforts?

Do not give your credit card number or other personal information to a telephone solicitor or in response to an e-mail solicitation. Ask the caller or sender to provide you with written information on the charity's programs and finances.

Do not give cash. Write a check to the full name of the charitable organization and ask for a receipt. If approached by a solicitor claiming to raise funds for a charitable organization, contact the organization to verify who is soliciting on their behalf.

If you decide to contribute online, find out more about the charity before making a contribution and be aware of red flags. For example, some charities imitate the name and style of a well-known organization in order to confuse people. Also, when clicking on the link to "donate", look at the organization's URL in the browser window. Exercise caution if the domain name is hidden, is not familiar to you or is not the same as the one stated in the text of the link.


The BBB offers reports on locally soliciting organizations. Contact the BBB at (314) 645-3300 or www.contactbbb.org. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance has reports on national charities and additional tips on charitable giving at its web site www.give.org.

[MatrixWatch]

My wife and I donated $50 bucks this morning. It isn't a lot, but it is what we can afford. If everyone pitches in just a few bucks, it will really help the relief effort. The Red Cross is a good place to send the $$$ too, as you know that the great majority of it will go to relief efforts.

-Merc

Merc, your generosity was really inspiring to my wife and I, and we've donated $100 as a result. I'd like to challenge my fellow MW members to join up and together donate $1000 to the relief effort. We're already about 20% there already.

The more news footage I see, the more my heart goes out to these victims. This is just devastating, and everything seems to be moving so slowly on their behalf. I have been very glad to see how motivated and active the U.S. Red Cross is though. Even F.E.M.A. is sending people along to them, which says a lot about the Red Cross' credibility and leadership.

[BTCohen]

Many, many Americans support my homeland financially and it is our solemn duty to do the same back in thier hour of need.

The Red Cross and Salvation Army are safe destinations for cash and it will be used specifically for the effort. Sad to see the majority of those really hurting are black folks.

My prayers are with those affected. G-d bless America.

[mercinary]

There are a lot of Americans who think that the US is too open o giving out cash and help to other nations, and in we (the US) get nothing in return. For people with those beliefs, they should check out this article, which details how the world's poorest nations are contributing to the disaster-relief effort.

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusintl/ap09-05-142524.asp?reg=europe&vts=9620050640

-Merc

[jokach]

Thats a great thing to see the nations that we have helped in the past return the favor to us!

On another note, here is a link to the FEMA website that lists all the resources available to victims and families of victims in the hurricane striken region:

http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_katrina.shtm#donate

jokach

[mercinary]

On a related note (sort of), I have been watching a lot of news and reading a lot of articles about the disaster. One interesting thing I found out this morning was that victims are being issued debit cards from FEMA to cover simple things such as gas to get out of town, food, clothes, etc. I don't know all the nitty-gritty details, but I'm pleasantly suprised to see that this is how FEMA operates.

Just thought I would share... :)

-Merc

[SANDSTER]

you know what I don't understand? I heard the Salvation Army say they only
wanted brand new never have been worn clothes. They won't accept any
used items. Geez, I remember growing up, the hand-me-downs weren't so
bad. They were just like brand new.

2ndly: I was surprised and happy to hear about all of the poor nations that can't even feed themselves, reach out to help America. 'Tis a fine day when
a soul has a good memory of days gone by'

The Sandster has spoken again. I'm at work so I must go. Byeeee! :p

[Deso]

I dont understand why charities do that. I totally agree with your comments.
If you had nothing, do you think you would rather go without than wear something "used".
Where do charities get their reasons for thinking this?
Beats me!..

[SANDSTER]

And now every single Federal Agency is blamed for the mess. If I remember correctly, the after storm of Katrina was still making devastation on Tuesday and the government got in on Wednesday. So......................who's fault is it really? :nono: When people are left with nothing, they seem to want to point the finger at other people. What about Mother Nature? Can't we just blame her? I'm not into Politics but in all reality the government didn't send the Huricane there or am I missing something here. I only get bits and pieces because I'm at work all day. The news can be depressing about Katrina.
It makes you wish you could go down there and help. I'm in Michigan. I would have to be back by the next day for work. :head:
I wish always for things that can't be I guess, but I'm always wishing for the
other people not for myself.
The Sandster has spoken.

It is best to speak with the heart instead of the mouth.(sometimes)

[MooMoo]

I think the main problem was the lack of funding that the Emergency Trusts setup specifically to help with this kind of emergency had. This budget cut was done by the present American government on express orders of President Bush, and the monies diverted instead to the war effort in Iraq.

This is why many people are blaming the administration.

I do find it incredible that Americans claim that they cannot help as it is too far from them, yet people from the other side of the planet are willing to donate money, time and man-hours to help others worse off than themselves.....

[SANDSTER]

I agree with you on that. Another thing. Did you hear on the news that the AFL is
ticked at Pres.Bush now because he contracted the cleanup work to some scab workers on an open end contract. Whew! It's good and bad because they could charge anything they want to clean up and maybe not do a good job for the people.
I am proud of the people on the other side of the planet :applause: for helping USA out. If you think about it, doesn't it seem like most of America is greedy to some extent? :nono:

What's your input MooMoo?
The Sandster