How can we help?

I haven't heard from my friends who live in New Orleans yet.  I'm pretty sure they were able to evacuate in plenty of time but there was certainly a limit to how much they could take with them and they probably don't know yet and won't know for a while how badly their house suffered and just how much they've lost.  My friends aren't poor and they have loving extended families so they are probably fine for now and will most likely be ok in the long run.  But they have two little girls and that got me thinking.

My friends are probably far removed from New Orleans, dry and safe, and their daughters might feel as though they are on a vacation.  I'm sure their relatives are making sure they don't miss any of their favorite toys and books they had to leave behind.  But I saw lots of children in the pictures and video of the flooding and ruin yesterday, children whose families probably lost everything.  Those kids are going to need new clothes, food, clean water, but also toys and games and books.  We have all of those things to send but I don't know where to send them or when.  Has anyone heard of a charity working on care packages for the people who were in Katrina's path?

Meanwhile the best thing to do is to send money to the rescue and aid operations that are already at work down there.  Probably you've found the link other places.  But here's the donation page for the Red Cross.

Comments

[Shakespeare's Sister]

Lance, I've been looking for the same thing. If I hear, I'll let you know.

[Violet Mannion]

Accodrding to George W. Bush on the radio this evening, you can also call "1-800-help-now".

[Catherine]

Lance, I am sure that your friends are OKAY. My friend made it to safety in Houston after 20 hours of driving.

[mac macgillicuddy]

Americares is a well established and reputable organization with the infrastructure to accomplish what they set out to do. Not that the Red Cross isn't also.

Americares also does a good job of keeping donors updated on how the money is being deployed and used.

Here's a link:

http://www.americares.org/news/?id=96

[e thompson]

I live in Houston. There are thousands of hurricane refugees here, and we are going to get tens of thousands more from the Superdome. A friend of mine says her neighbor has 21 relatives from LA and MS staying at her house.

I got this list from local news station KPRC. If you want to send stuff (instead of money), you could probably phone the shelters and agencies and get more specific mailing address details. The games, toys, and books are a great idea.
http://www.click2houston.com/news/4915332/detail.html

Donate To Katrina Victims
Monetary Donations Preferred

POSTED: 12:30 pm CDT August 30, 2005
UPDATED: 9:58 pm CDT August 31, 2005

HOUSTON -- Houstonians can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina through the following agencies and companies. Most organizations would prefer monetary donations because it is the easiest and quickest way to meet victims' immediate needs.

American Red Cross Shelters Accepting Donations:

Items Needed:
Food and drinks
Clothing
Disposable diapers
Games and toys
Sheets and blankets
Monetary donations

Shelter Locations:
Baytown Community Center, 2407 Market Street, Baytown

Memorial Baptist Church, 600 W. Sterling, Baytown

Mont Belvieu Senior Center, 11607 Eagle Drive, Mont Belvieu

Moody Methodist Church, 2803 53rd Street, Galveston

St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, 6005 N, Wayside Drive, Houston

Complete List Of Red Cross Shelters
Red Cross Hotline: (800) GET-INFO or (713) 313-5480

Donate To Houston Food Bank:

The Houston Food Bank, 3811 Eastex Freeway, is in need of the following items to help Katrina victims. Local 2 will hold a food drive Friday from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. For more information, call (713) 223-3700.

Paper goods such as plates, cups, diapers and tissue
Cleaning supplies, such as bleach, Top Job, Mr. Clean
Bottled water (no glass containers)
Single serving snacks such as Pop-Tarts and cereal bars
Peanut butter
Heat and eat foods such as chili, stew, canned pasta with sauce and canned vegetables
Any other single serving foods that don't require refrigeration
MREs (Meals Ready To Eat)
Baby formula
Personal hygiene products

Coast Guard Asks For Donations For Rescuers

The U.S. Coast Guard in Houston is asking for donations to help about 50 workers in New Orleans on rescue efforts who are running out of basic supplies. Donations can be dropped off at the Coast Guard office at Ellington Field.

Items in need include:

Toilet paper, wipes
Soap
First Aid kits, bug spray, foot powder
Bottled water, sports drinks, coffee
Power bars, granola bars, cups of dry soup
Sleeping bags and pillows
D and AA batteries

Companies, Organizations Accepting Donated Items:
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, 2403 Holcombe Blvd., (713) 741-8234
Baytown Junior High, 7707 Bayway Drive, (281) 424-2582
Sugar Creek Baptist Church, 13213 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, (281) 242-2858
Park at Voss Apartments, 2424 S. Voss Road (at Westheimer), (713) 268-3000
Alvin Community College, 3110 Mustang Road, Alvin, 77511
Houston Humane Society, 14700 Almeda Road, (713) 433-6421
Houston-Area Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals, 900 Portway Drive
West University Baptist Church, 6218 Auden Street, (713) 668-2319
Crosspoint Church, 4601 Bellaire Blvd.
Bumbera's Performance Associates, 630 Highway 6 South, 77079, (281) 493-9300
Wesley Gardens Apartments, 8700 Gustine Lane, 77031, (713) 270-5555
Julia C. Hester House, 2020 Solo, 77020, (713) 672-2573
Westlake Fire Department, (281) 960-5014
Lakewood Church, 3700 Southwest Freeway, Accepting donations Sept. 1 and 2, (713) 635-4154
Church of Christ, 1704 Weber, (713) 864-5667
Lansdowne-Moody, (713) 672-8366, is collecting food and clothing at the four locations below.
8445 East Freeway, 77029
11810 S. Sam Houston Parkway West, 77031
1600 FM 528, Webster, 77598
23738 Hempstead Highway, Cypress, 77429
Houston-area YMCAs and KSBJ FM are collecting gift cards to help victims pay for gas, food and other items.
Impact Houston Church of Christ, 1704 Weber, (832) 641-5900
Consignor's Club, 22704 Loop 494 Ste D, Humble, 77339, (281) 359-9090

Accepting Monetary Donations Only:
American Red Cross, (800) HELP NOW (435-7669)
Salvation Army: (800) SAL-ARMY (725-2769)
Greater New Orleans Foundation
America's Second Harvest: (800) 344-8070
Adventist Community Services: (800) 381-7171
Catholic Charities, USA: (703) 549-1390
Christian Disaster Response: (941) 956-5183 or (941) 551-9554
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: (800) 848-5818
Church World Service: (800) 297-1516
Convoy of Hope: (417) 823-8998
Lutheran Disaster Response: (800) 638-3522
Nazarene Disaster Response: (888) 256-5886
Operation Blessing: (800) 436-6348
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: (800) 872-3283
Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief: (800) 462-8657, ext. 6440
United Methodist Committee on Relief: (800) 554-8583

Better Business Bureau: Check Out Charity Before Giving

[grishaxxx]

The e thompson comment is incredibly useful, and I have linked to it. Anything similar in the other directions (North & East) would be wonderful, and do my best to spread them around, too.

[blue girl]

Me too! Thanks e thompson!

[Lance]

e thompson, thank you very much! I'm going to pull out your comment and make it its own post.

Catherine, I'm sure you're right. My friends are lucky, they are both college librarians, so they have jobs they could take leaves from, unlike a lot of people who had to stick around until the last minute because they couldn't afford to stop working and their places of employment didn't close shop.

Violet, thank you, your aunt and I called that number.

[e thompson]

This morning's Houston Chronicle (www.chron.com) said we might have as many as 100,000 Gulf Coast refugees here. That's 20% of the population of New Orleans proper.

I was at Wal-Mart this morning, and the family (mom, dad, and approx 6 month old baby) in line in front of me were buying a generator, a camp stove, a window fan, diapers, formula, and gallons of water. It was pretty obvious where they are headed back to.

There have been refugees everywhere I've gone over the last few days. Kroger, Chick-Fil-A, Ikea... and I don't live anywhere near any of the shelters on the list. The TX governor has told them to just go ahead and enroll their kids in school here, since they are likely to be here for months.