Donating to help New York City
This is a public post, which I rarely make, so that people can link to it as desired.
So. My mom got home from another 12-hour shift (she works in emergency management) during the NBC telethon, and said, "Why are all these New Yorkers raising money for the Red Cross when the Red Cross isn't anywhere in the city?"
Apparently the Red Cross is stretched too thin to address the entirety of the Hurricane-affected areas, and has not deployed at all within the five boroughs. (They are doing good work in NJ and Long Island, though.) This includes fire-ravaged Breezy Point (on the Rockaways, and other burnt-down areas around there) and washed away Staten Island and Coney Island.
If you're in the area, there are many grassroots efforts to deliver food and warmth to people whose homes have been rendered unsafe (or just plain power-less). If you're in the area, that's probably the best way to help.
If you're out of NYC but want to help, you can donate to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City. From the nyc.gov website:
Donations will support immediate aid needs - including water, food, and hygiene supplies - as well as long-term relief and restoration efforts. One hundred percent of donations are being dispersed to relief organizations and their efforts.
The people who were crying on the TV last night because neither FEMA nor the Red Cross had gotten to the Rockaways or Staten Island? Well, FEMA has finally arrived to Staten Island, but the residents who need them most are the last ones to hear because--no power, no internet, no cell service.
It's bad, folks. My neighborhood was virtually unscathed (though one neighborhood over had 2 people killed by falling tree limbs), but the worst-hit areas are reporting that not only is there a lack of electricity, heat, and power, but that institutional response has been near-nonexistent and that looting has broken out.
So. My mom got home from another 12-hour shift (she works in emergency management) during the NBC telethon, and said, "Why are all these New Yorkers raising money for the Red Cross when the Red Cross isn't anywhere in the city?"
Apparently the Red Cross is stretched too thin to address the entirety of the Hurricane-affected areas, and has not deployed at all within the five boroughs. (They are doing good work in NJ and Long Island, though.) This includes fire-ravaged Breezy Point (on the Rockaways, and other burnt-down areas around there) and washed away Staten Island and Coney Island.
If you're in the area, there are many grassroots efforts to deliver food and warmth to people whose homes have been rendered unsafe (or just plain power-less). If you're in the area, that's probably the best way to help.
If you're out of NYC but want to help, you can donate to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City. From the nyc.gov website:
Donations will support immediate aid needs - including water, food, and hygiene supplies - as well as long-term relief and restoration efforts. One hundred percent of donations are being dispersed to relief organizations and their efforts.
The people who were crying on the TV last night because neither FEMA nor the Red Cross had gotten to the Rockaways or Staten Island? Well, FEMA has finally arrived to Staten Island, but the residents who need them most are the last ones to hear because--no power, no internet, no cell service.
It's bad, folks. My neighborhood was virtually unscathed (though one neighborhood over had 2 people killed by falling tree limbs), but the worst-hit areas are reporting that not only is there a lack of electricity, heat, and power, but that institutional response has been near-nonexistent and that looting has broken out.