Katrina - how to help

donate to Katrina vicitims: Red Cross

Tips:

# Financial contributions are usually the best way to help.

# Give by check to the (local) disaster relief charity of your choice.

# For specific disasters, indicate on your check what relief effort you would like the funds applied towards, e.g., hurricane Andrew or tsunami relief.

# If you must donate goods, donate through a genuine relief organization that has announced a need for the goods.

# Otherwise donated goods require warehouse space that may not be available, not to mention packaging and transportation resources.

And please don't give your used clothing to disaster victims!

It adds to the relief workload because it needs sorting, cleaning and transporting.

Usually, used clothes end up in a thrift store or the landfill.

# Confirm the need for specific goods before beginning a collection drive.

# Don't wait for the disaster to become a volunteer.

Get disaster training through a voluntary organization or your faith community (many of which have national or regional disaster relief units).

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