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| FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003. |
Voluntary organizations are seeking cash donations to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina in Gulf Coast states, according to Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response. But, volunteers should not report directly to the affected areas unless directed by a voluntary agency.
"Cash donations are especially helpful to victims," Brown said. "They allow volunteer agencies to issue cash vouchers to victims so they can meet their needs. Cash donations also allow agencies to avoid the labor-intensive need to store, sort, pack and distribute donated goods. Donated money prevents, too, the prohibitive cost of air or sea transportation that donated goods require."
Volunteer agencies provide a wide variety of services after disasters, such as clean up, childcare, housing repair, crisis counseling, sheltering and food.
| Local units may want to know how they can help as an organization in the relief effort. View our FAQs page for suggestions. CLICK HERE |
"We're grateful for the outpouring of support already," Brown said. "But it's important that volunteer response is coordinated by the professionals who can direct volunteers with the appropriate skills to the hardest-hit areas where they are needed most. Self-dispatched volunteers and especially sightseers can put themselves and others in harm's way and hamper rescue efforts."
Donate cash to:
American
Red Cross
1-800-HELP NOW (435-7669) English,
1-800-257-7575 Spanish;
Operation Blessing: 1-800-436-6348
America's Second Harvest: 1-800-344-8070
Donate Cash to and Volunteer with:
Adventist Community Services: 1-800-381-7171
Catholic Charities, USA: 703 549-1390
Christian Disaster Response: 941-956-5183 or 941-551-9554
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: 1-800-848-5818
Church
World Service: 1-800-297-1516
Convoy of Hope: 417-823-8998
Lutheran Disaster Response: 800-638-3522
Mennonite Disaster Service: 717-859-2210
Nazarene Disaster Response: 888-256-5886
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: 800-872-3283
Salvation Army: 1-800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769)
Southern Baptist Convention - Disaster Relief: 1-800-462-8657, ext. 6440
United Methodist Committee on Relief: 1-800-554-8583
For further information: visit the website for the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) at: www.nvoad.org.
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Red Cross: www.redcross.org/ | |
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The Salvation Army | |
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For more ideas, try the following
Google search: | |
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FEMA Charity Tips at www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm | |
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Finding the Right Charity to
Help Hurricane Katrina Victims: | |
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When Disaster Strikes:
Helping children cope with life at its worst. | |
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Education Plans
Unfold in Wake of Katrina Devastation |
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