Have you been worried this week about friends in the Gulf Coast area? I’ve been reading about people wanting to do everything from sending trailers to ordering from Amazon for delivery. My question is, if the people are still having a hard time getting around, how on earth do we expect that Amazon will be delivering to these areas? There are so many issues to address when 30,000 people are displaced, including people without their meds, children with severe food allergies, hospitals, nursing homes and prisoners who have been relocated, pets who have been scattered from their families, and the list goes on!
One of my dear friends and professional organizer colleagues this week lives in Houston, and she’s passed along this information so that we can all do the most good. Here’s Holly’s information from the front lines:
Hi all, I plan to write a bit more later but I wanted to quickly address the question of donations to Hurricane Harvey victims. Please do not send anything but money. The mail service is still not operable in some areas and the outpouring of support from the local communities has been unbelievable. Please let those in the affected areas donate what they know their areas need. I live in NW Houston and within just a day or two, all the churches (which were set up as shelter sites) were asking people to stop donating items. Really and truly, what this city needs is money. {the emphasis is mine}
If you feel like you want to help, I’ve listed below a few legit donation sites. Some are local churches in my area and some are national organizations who will set aside specific funds for hurricane victims. They are listed in no particular order. Houston is huge – it’s the 4th largest city in the country and there is devastation in every part of the city.
Thanks to all of you who have personally reached out to me – words cannot express…. Again, I’ll write a bit more later but wanted to get these donations sites into your hands
JJ Watt Fund – Houston Texan Player
www.youcaring.com/victimsofhurricaneharvey-915053
United Way Hurricane Fund
www.unitedwayhouston.org/flood/flood-donation
Houston NW Church
https://pushpay.com/p/hnwhouston?src=hpp
select Harvey Flood Relief
Bayou City Fellowship
www.bayoucityfellowship.com
donatenow.networkforgood.org/feeding-texas/mobile
http://www.texasdiaperbank.org
Official Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
www.readyharris.org/News-Information/…
Windwood Presbyterian Church
windwood.wufoo.com/forms/…
The Met Church
https://themet.securegive.com/
Real Life Ministries
app.clovergive.com/f/…
Houston Food Bank
www.houstonfoodbank.org
Feeding Texas
www.feedingtexas.org
Here’s advice from another dear friend, Sondra Lyn, who recommends two additional groups that she’s personally involved with who are doing “feet on the ground” work with very little overhead. If you click on the link, you’ll see a positively stunning picture of what the interstate highways are supposed to look like, and what they looked like during the storm. Unbelievable.
This article on how to help after Hurricane Harvey is from the NY Times, but you’ll see some overlap in the lists above from my friends, and the info on this list. Also, good information on how not to get scammed.
I’ll post more from my friends in the area if I get updates.
