Katrina
While it is not exactly the norm for this site, as residents of Texas, we are seeing up close the difficulties of our neighbors to the East who have had to flee their homes and have left their lives behind. If you want to give, I would like to offer a few suggestions outside of the Red Cross and Salvation Army.
The Houston Food Bank is always in need, but now their resources are being stretched to the maximum. Because of their partnerships with wholesale food companies, they can turn a $5 donation into the retail equivalent of $125. Click here to donate to the Houston Food Bank Katrina relief effort.
The Star of Hope is a homeless shelter in Houston. They will be taking in some who don’t end up in shelters. Some have left the Astrodome with no plan about where they are going. They are also one of the major clothing distribution centers for Katrina evacuees.
Churches all over Houston have opened their doors as shelters. Some are Red Cross shelters, and some depend entirely upon their congregations and donations from generous strangers. Our closest shelter is at Copperfield Baptist Church. They are hosting 100-150 evacuees on a daily basis. Donations are used for the day to day cost of feeding and sheltering the evacuees, as well as purchasing gift and gas cards for them.
In addition, those who normally donate to specific organizations should continue to do so. There are already reports of organizations that have received word that their normal sponsors will not be donating in order to give to the Katrina evacuees.