the hurricane relief megapost.
As promised some time ago, I have been compiling a megapost of links I've compiled from all over about organizations doing relief in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Here they are. I will improve organization and add info gradually.
First, for those with concerns about theocracy/donating to orgs that are closet Christian fundamentalists: An EXCELLENT post on dark_christian, which monitors Dominionism, about which philanthropic orgs are run by/have links to Dominionists (via jillbertini) (it also addresses some other concerns with these orgs but that is the community's focus)
Second, for those concerned about the disproportionate effect of this tragedy on POC and low-income folks, and the pork associated with large national philanthropic orgs, the Spark Plug Foundation's list of grassroots, low-income, and people-of-color-led places to donate.
Ye Olde Red Cross
What they provide: shelter, food, and counseling. (source: DailyCandy) **sparkle_shortz recommends: if you're going to donate to the Red Cross, do it through the double matching Manilow Fund.
Black America Web's relief effort (via ayodele and a Tom Joyner TV appearance)
Next 5 from a POC listserv posted by ayodele:
List of organizations based in the Black community,
compiled by hip-hop artist Kevin Powell
http://www.wbai.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=6735&Itemid=0
List of relief organizations compiled by AlterNet (alternative media site)
http://alternet.org/story/24938/
Offers of Housing to the Uprooted: MoveOn.org
http://www.hurricanehousing.org/
Operation USA
"They can provide medical supplies and cash grants to
smaller local clinics who are not Red Cross
affiliates."
http://www.opusa.org
Jazz Foundation of America
Helping jazz musicians in New Orleans
http://www.jazzfoundation.org/new_orleans.php
AmeriCares
What they provide: relief shipments of cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, and other basics. (source: DailyCandy)
Network for Good, which has listings of massive amounts of nonprofits broken down by category of action
Habitat for Humanity
builds houses
America's Second Harvest
What they provide: hunger relief.
They also need: donations of food, transportation, and products (bottled water, utensils, bleach, disinfecting household cleaning items, and diapers) (source: DailyCandy)
Louisiana SPCA
What they provide: food and shelter for pets that have been separated from their owners. (source: DailyCandy)
Black United Fund of Illinois Hurricane Relief Fund
"Funds raised for the Relief Fund will be granted to local agencies to help hurricane victims meet basic human needs: food, shelter, health care and other necessities, and to help relocate and provide support services for victims." I gather this focuses on hurricane evacuees who have been relocated to Chicago/Illinois. (source: their website, this link courtesy of mightypen)
Go Fug Yourself's excellent post
**has info about the following places to donate: Network for Good, Storm Aid (run by Clear Channel, ew), Feed the Children, Mercy Corps, Hurricane Housing, Give Life, Humane Society, Noah's Wish, American Kennel Club, Bret Favre's Fourward Foundation, Southern Mutual Help, Ronald McDonald House, St Vincent DePaul, Food for the Astrodome (which I assume/hope is defunct or soon to be?), Northwest Medical Teams, Petsmart, Best Friends Animal Soc, Discovery Toys, National Trust for Historic Preservation's fund for restoring historic buildings in NOLA, North Shore Animal League, Mennonite Disaster Relief (I guess those were the ppl who were working with Pat Robertson's Operation Blessing on the 700 Club last night? not kidding), Hab for Humanity, Project Backpack, Louisiana Library Assn, Houston animal shelter, Lutheran Disaster Relief, American Friends Service Committee (GO QUAKERS!), colleges and universities that have taken displaced students, Lambda Legal, and the Rainbow World Fund;
**it also has info about donation-matching orgs (Donors Choose is vying for matching $ from Amazon to make classroom packets for kids displaced from the area, Manilow Fund, and Ellen DeGeneres' site); donation-matching retailers (Whole Foods, Amoeba Music, Best Buy, Peet's Coffee, Costco);
**and retailers accepting donations on behalf of relief orgs (I'm too tired to type them all, but check if you are planning any shopping, k?)
For Brooklynites: the Community Bookstore and Cafe in Park Slope, (143 Seventh Avenue between Carroll Street and Garfield Place (718) 783-3075) is both accepting and shipping donations of supplies (CALL FIRST to make sure this is still true) and circulating info on other donation efforts
And a good idea from one of their contacts: Drugstore.com is doing free shipping on orders over $25 through 9/30, so if you can find a place with a need for supplies rather than donations, you can get it shipped there free.
Rice University's Katrina page, sent by a friend in Houston where as you know a lot of evacuees have been sent
If you are sending supplies I recommend reading this post from ayodele about what to/not to send.
more from ayodele's POC listserv post: things to do to help besides $$ donation but including supplies donation info:
ALTERNATIVE MEDIA OUTLETS
Where you can get a more accurate and balanced presentation of the New Orleans catastrophe:
www.democracynow.org
www.alternet.org
www.npr.org
A FEW THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP IMMEDIATELY
1. Cut and past the information in this e-blast about
a. Items needed by survivors of the New Orleans catastrophe
b. Monetary donations
c. Where you can ship non-perishable times
d. Alternative media outlets
e. A few things you can do to help immediately and share this information as a ONE SHEET, with folks near and far, via email or as a hand out at your event, religious institution and with your civic organization.
2. Voice your opinion to local and national media and to elected officials, via letter, email, op-ed article or phone call regarding the coverage of the New Orleans catastrophe.
a. ACTION: Improve Racial Justice Coverage of Katrina
http://action.youthmediacouncil.org/index.php?s=6&n=24
Join the Youth Media Council and allies in calling for CNN and MSNBC to cover critical race and class issues in coverage of the disaster.
3. Ask the hotel you frequent, such as the Marriot or
Holiday Inn, to give your hotel points to an
individual or family in need of a stay for a night, a
few nights, or longer depending on how many points you
have. Be sure to get confirmation that your points
have been applied in that way. Encourage others to do
the same. Also inquire if your airline frequent flyer
mileage can be sued for hotel stays as well. Finally,
either offer to pay for hotel rooms, or encourage
others to do so, including your place of employment or
worship or you organization.
4. Dare to care about other human beings, no matter their race, gender, class, sexual orientation, religion, culture, clothing, hairstyle, or accent or language.
NON-MONETARY DONATIONS
You can mail or ship non-perishable items to these following locations, which have been confirmed are REALLY delivering services to folks in need.
*items most needed
*new undergarments for adults and children
bottles of water
diapers, baby wipes
baby food
baby aspirin
aspirin
vitamins
toilet paper
sanitary napkins
portable radios with batteries
plastic forks, knives and spoons
cotton balls, cotton swabs
hydrogen peroxide BUT NOT rubbing alcohol because that
is flammable
band aids
shaving cream
male and female razors
*sleeping bags, blankets, air mattresses, sheets
*pillows and pillow cases
*towels
gift cards for gas
gift cards
garbage bags
*cleaning supplies
*soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes
*hand sanitizer
flashlights, batteries, candles
books for children, including coloring books
books for adults, magazines
Center for LIFE Outreach Center
121 Saint Landry Street
Lafayette, LA 70506
attn.: Minister Pamela Robinson
337-504-5374
Mohammad Mosque 65
2600 Plank Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
attn.: Minister Andrew Muhammad
225-923-1400
225-357-3079
Lewis Temple CME Church
124 Main Street
Grambling, LA 71245
attn.: Rev. Dr. Ricky Helton
318-247-3793
St. Luke Community United Methodist Church
c/o Hurricane Katrina Victims
6211 East Grand Ave
Dallas, TX 75223
attn.: Pastor Tom Waitschies
214-821-2970
S.H.A.P.E. Community Center
3815 Live Oak
Houston, Texas 77004
attn.: Deloyd Parker
713-521-0641
Please pass on info to be added and I'll keep plugging stuff in.
First, for those with concerns about theocracy/donating to orgs that are closet Christian fundamentalists: An EXCELLENT post on dark_christian, which monitors Dominionism, about which philanthropic orgs are run by/have links to Dominionists (via jillbertini) (it also addresses some other concerns with these orgs but that is the community's focus)
Second, for those concerned about the disproportionate effect of this tragedy on POC and low-income folks, and the pork associated with large national philanthropic orgs, the Spark Plug Foundation's list of grassroots, low-income, and people-of-color-led places to donate.
Ye Olde Red Cross
What they provide: shelter, food, and counseling. (source: DailyCandy) **sparkle_shortz recommends: if you're going to donate to the Red Cross, do it through the double matching Manilow Fund.
Black America Web's relief effort (via ayodele and a Tom Joyner TV appearance)
Next 5 from a POC listserv posted by ayodele:
List of organizations based in the Black community,
compiled by hip-hop artist Kevin Powell
http://www.wbai.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=6735&Itemid=0
List of relief organizations compiled by AlterNet (alternative media site)
http://alternet.org/story/24938/
Offers of Housing to the Uprooted: MoveOn.org
http://www.hurricanehousing.org/
Operation USA
"They can provide medical supplies and cash grants to
smaller local clinics who are not Red Cross
affiliates."
http://www.opusa.org
Jazz Foundation of America
Helping jazz musicians in New Orleans
http://www.jazzfoundation.org/new_orleans.php
AmeriCares
What they provide: relief shipments of cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, and other basics. (source: DailyCandy)
Network for Good, which has listings of massive amounts of nonprofits broken down by category of action
Habitat for Humanity
builds houses
America's Second Harvest
What they provide: hunger relief.
They also need: donations of food, transportation, and products (bottled water, utensils, bleach, disinfecting household cleaning items, and diapers) (source: DailyCandy)
Louisiana SPCA
What they provide: food and shelter for pets that have been separated from their owners. (source: DailyCandy)
Black United Fund of Illinois Hurricane Relief Fund
"Funds raised for the Relief Fund will be granted to local agencies to help hurricane victims meet basic human needs: food, shelter, health care and other necessities, and to help relocate and provide support services for victims." I gather this focuses on hurricane evacuees who have been relocated to Chicago/Illinois. (source: their website, this link courtesy of mightypen)
Go Fug Yourself's excellent post
**has info about the following places to donate: Network for Good, Storm Aid (run by Clear Channel, ew), Feed the Children, Mercy Corps, Hurricane Housing, Give Life, Humane Society, Noah's Wish, American Kennel Club, Bret Favre's Fourward Foundation, Southern Mutual Help, Ronald McDonald House, St Vincent DePaul, Food for the Astrodome (which I assume/hope is defunct or soon to be?), Northwest Medical Teams, Petsmart, Best Friends Animal Soc, Discovery Toys, National Trust for Historic Preservation's fund for restoring historic buildings in NOLA, North Shore Animal League, Mennonite Disaster Relief (I guess those were the ppl who were working with Pat Robertson's Operation Blessing on the 700 Club last night? not kidding), Hab for Humanity, Project Backpack, Louisiana Library Assn, Houston animal shelter, Lutheran Disaster Relief, American Friends Service Committee (GO QUAKERS!), colleges and universities that have taken displaced students, Lambda Legal, and the Rainbow World Fund;
**it also has info about donation-matching orgs (Donors Choose is vying for matching $ from Amazon to make classroom packets for kids displaced from the area, Manilow Fund, and Ellen DeGeneres' site); donation-matching retailers (Whole Foods, Amoeba Music, Best Buy, Peet's Coffee, Costco);
**and retailers accepting donations on behalf of relief orgs (I'm too tired to type them all, but check if you are planning any shopping, k?)
For Brooklynites: the Community Bookstore and Cafe in Park Slope, (143 Seventh Avenue between Carroll Street and Garfield Place (718) 783-3075) is both accepting and shipping donations of supplies (CALL FIRST to make sure this is still true) and circulating info on other donation efforts
And a good idea from one of their contacts: Drugstore.com is doing free shipping on orders over $25 through 9/30, so if you can find a place with a need for supplies rather than donations, you can get it shipped there free.
Rice University's Katrina page, sent by a friend in Houston where as you know a lot of evacuees have been sent
If you are sending supplies I recommend reading this post from ayodele about what to/not to send.
more from ayodele's POC listserv post: things to do to help besides $$ donation but including supplies donation info:
ALTERNATIVE MEDIA OUTLETS
Where you can get a more accurate and balanced presentation of the New Orleans catastrophe:
www.democracynow.org
www.alternet.org
www.npr.org
A FEW THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP IMMEDIATELY
1. Cut and past the information in this e-blast about
a. Items needed by survivors of the New Orleans catastrophe
b. Monetary donations
c. Where you can ship non-perishable times
d. Alternative media outlets
e. A few things you can do to help immediately and share this information as a ONE SHEET, with folks near and far, via email or as a hand out at your event, religious institution and with your civic organization.
2. Voice your opinion to local and national media and to elected officials, via letter, email, op-ed article or phone call regarding the coverage of the New Orleans catastrophe.
a. ACTION: Improve Racial Justice Coverage of Katrina
http://action.youthmediacouncil.org/index.php?s=6&n=24
Join the Youth Media Council and allies in calling for CNN and MSNBC to cover critical race and class issues in coverage of the disaster.
3. Ask the hotel you frequent, such as the Marriot or
Holiday Inn, to give your hotel points to an
individual or family in need of a stay for a night, a
few nights, or longer depending on how many points you
have. Be sure to get confirmation that your points
have been applied in that way. Encourage others to do
the same. Also inquire if your airline frequent flyer
mileage can be sued for hotel stays as well. Finally,
either offer to pay for hotel rooms, or encourage
others to do so, including your place of employment or
worship or you organization.
4. Dare to care about other human beings, no matter their race, gender, class, sexual orientation, religion, culture, clothing, hairstyle, or accent or language.
NON-MONETARY DONATIONS
You can mail or ship non-perishable items to these following locations, which have been confirmed are REALLY delivering services to folks in need.
*items most needed
*new undergarments for adults and children
bottles of water
diapers, baby wipes
baby food
baby aspirin
aspirin
vitamins
toilet paper
sanitary napkins
portable radios with batteries
plastic forks, knives and spoons
cotton balls, cotton swabs
hydrogen peroxide BUT NOT rubbing alcohol because that
is flammable
band aids
shaving cream
male and female razors
*sleeping bags, blankets, air mattresses, sheets
*pillows and pillow cases
*towels
gift cards for gas
gift cards
garbage bags
*cleaning supplies
*soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes
*hand sanitizer
flashlights, batteries, candles
books for children, including coloring books
books for adults, magazines
Center for LIFE Outreach Center
121 Saint Landry Street
Lafayette, LA 70506
attn.: Minister Pamela Robinson
337-504-5374
Mohammad Mosque 65
2600 Plank Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
attn.: Minister Andrew Muhammad
225-923-1400
225-357-3079
Lewis Temple CME Church
124 Main Street
Grambling, LA 71245
attn.: Rev. Dr. Ricky Helton
318-247-3793
St. Luke Community United Methodist Church
c/o Hurricane Katrina Victims
6211 East Grand Ave
Dallas, TX 75223
attn.: Pastor Tom Waitschies
214-821-2970
S.H.A.P.E. Community Center
3815 Live Oak
Houston, Texas 77004
attn.: Deloyd Parker
713-521-0641
Please pass on info to be added and I'll keep plugging stuff in.