Katrina Help

I'm pretty lucky in that my parents went on a holiday from Aus to the US to visit New Orleans and Orlando. They were going to Orlando first and then New Orleans but at the last minute decided to swap them around. They ended up leaving New Orleans the day before the hurricane hit. Its such a tragedy for things like this to happen. And that there are people out there like the looters who take advantage of other peoples misery and helplessness.

 

*bump*

Can we get this thread a sticky?

Atleast that list of charities.

 

I second third and fourth that..make this a sticky.. Me and my girlfriend do not have alot of money to donate but were giving what we can. I have alot of clothes from the last 2 summerd and winter I dont really wear anymore as does she as well as her 5 yr old, so tonight were packing it all up along with some canned food and some of her sons toys and donating them to go towrads the relief....I wish I could do more, so MUCH more. The news this morning had me awe struck..it was like looking at a third world country were so used to seeing on the news..I couldnt believe what I was seeing with the dead bodies and ppl being murdered in the superdome, and bodies floating around the citie, hospitals being out of power?? where the hell are the bakcup generators..what the hell is our countries elected leaders doing about this?? a news reporter stood in a hospital room with a doctor asking " do you think he'll make it" directed at a dying diabetes patient..the doctor just shook his head looking cloe to tears ....these ppl are dying from simple diseases, ailments, injuries that they should not simply bc they have no supplies, no power, NO SUPPORT! I will do what I can to help but my help just seems all to small and insignificant. my heart just bleeds for these people

 

THANK YOU!

 

I live in one of the so called third wolrd nations (just south of the US border), and from personal experience the difference btw a third world country and a first worls is the fact that the non profitable organzations have more resources to help people in need in tragedies like this, the polititians all around are more concerned on the power they want to get than into helping the people itself.

Its a pitty that the leaders of the more powerful contry in the world can't react to disasters as this with all the might at its hand, and honestly they start doing it when they get critize by the lack of action.

Honestly I think its up to all of us to help those in need when disaster strikes (wheter is south asia, africa, New Orleas, etc). So I urge to all of us to start making donations to all of those organizations that are willing to help!!

 

Funny, now you're pointing fingers at us, saying we're doing nothing. Which is a false assumption BTW.

I never undestood the don't complain attitude, I thik it's because people don't like to challenge the government. Tha't sad.

 

Chill out... dang! I didn't say "don't complain" or "don't challenge the government" or "you're not doing anyting," did I? No! Also, I wasn't just speaking to the readers of this thread. There are all kinds of people out there missing the point.

To put my previous post in new words, though, one can either sit around and blame others or one can act for the common good. I fully admit that there are other options here, too, and that the two choices above are not mutually exclusive, either. But what was pissing me off is that some people are making this tragedy into a political issue to suit their own agendas. How 'bout we solve the immediate problems first then we can tackle the other issues raised by this catastrophe.

It is called perspective, people. Many out there are showing that they have a good, healthy perspective. Others... not so much.

 

"Leave it to liberals to politicize everything"

The irony of this sentence just breaks my heart.

 

Focus on help, not politics. Period. Consider this your only warning everyone.

 

In addition to the charities listed on the first page, think about donating a bit to the Humane Society, which is helping pets and other animal victims. I've heard the PetSmart chain is also taking donation for animal relief charities.

 

You can alos consider the IFAW, I've donated constatly there and I receive the following newsletter in this regards, it has all the links to make this donations

International Fund for Animal Welfare
September 1, 2005


Hurricane Response: Help Rescue Stranded Pets

Dear *****,

By now you've already seen the horrific images on TV. Among them, victims of Hurricane Katrina in the Southern United States trying desperately to rescue their pets from the tops of trees or the attics of their submerged homes...helpless to reach the animals they love.

Many families who were forced to evacuate quickly were unable to take their pets with them. For many of the hundreds of thousands who have lost everything, their pets are all they have left to give them comfort and strength. Not to mention the thousands of pets misplaced or completely abandoned.

As the situation continues to worsen, humanitarian agencies are doing their part to help and we must do ours.

Help IFAW raise $130,000 to send a Mobile Command Vehicle to rescue Hurricane
Katrina animal victims

IFAW is working with Code 3 Associates, Inc. to send its 78-foot disaster-relief and response unit to rescue animal victims of the hurricane and reunite them with their families. This self-sufficient mobile unit will be staffed by members of IFAW's Emergency Relief Team, specially trained and certified for all types of rescue and animal care. The unit provides sleeping quarters for up to 12 rescue workers, a veterinary triage and exam center, and 125 cages to hold rescued animals.

This entire relief effort is funded by compassionate animal lovers like you. So please give what you can nowgive. The more contributions we receive, the longer our animal rescue team can remain on the ground saving pets and bringing hope to the families that love them.


You can make sure abandoned and injured pets aren't left behind

As overwhelmed authorities scramble to evacuate the human survivors left, it's up to us to coordinate animal rescue operations and provide emergency care and shelter to animal victims.

Your contribution to our Animal Rescue fund will also go to help rebuild animal shelters that have been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Our rescue team is mobilizing right now. Its first stop on Friday will be to rescue 175 animals from a vet clinic 16 miles east of New Orleans. The water is rising and we need to get the animals out. In the weeks that follow, our relief workers will keep you up to date on our progress with written and audio diaries sent directly from the sites of the ongoing rescue efforts.

Right now, thousands of hurricane victims are depending on us to provide their animals with assistance. Your contribution will go directly to this rescue and relief effort, so please donate what you can now.

Thank you for your generous response,

Fred O'Regan
President and CEO, IFAW

P.S. The Mobile Command Unit being used by the IFAW team was designed with one goal in mind: to support and extend the ability to effectively accomplish its mission in a disaster or emergency. It can remain totally self-sufficient for up to a week without re-supply. But it cannot fund itself. Your support isdesperately needed to fund this rescue mission. And please forward this email to as many people as you can to about our hurricane relief efforts and help us meet our $130,000 goal.


____________________
IFAW (C) 2005

Suite 612, 1 Nicholas Street * Ottawa, ON K1N 7B7 * Canada
www.ifaw.org (http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=17767)

 

For those with Amazon accounts, you can make donations to the Red Cross directly through your account.

 

I dont know if this has been mentiond.
But my school is going around during the lunch and advisory priods and asking for donations.If your school dosent do that maby you should try to get your school to do it.

 

Yeah, my school is having money collected.
I was at Wal-mart yesterday and I was standing in line to check out and all of the sudden the computers went out. We stood there in line for half an hour and the managers were freakin' out and didn't know what to do. I found out later that the headquarters for Wal-mart is under water in Mississippi and that affected everybody else.

Good Stuff

 

As far as everyone flaming Bush, yes please start your own thread to do that. Also realize that more than 80% of our armed forces are overseas fighting a war that 99% of the American population has conveniently forgotten about. At the moment, all of our resources stretched thin. Think about it: If Bush brings back the necessary resources from Iraq to help out, the Democrats will lambast him for abandonning his own plan; if he doesn't, the Democrats lambast him for not caring. So please, before you start all the political mudslinging, look at the WHOLE picture and EVERY situation. Yes things could be better, but with so many people complaining and not doing anything themselves, they're not going to get better. So my suggestion: Either put up, or shut-up.

 

Please share the news of this relief effort with your friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors as well as emailing this web address to your entire mailing lists.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is also asking people to donate Emergency Kits that can be distributed to disaster victims and relief workers. You can find a complete description of the emergency kits at the following web address:

http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/kits.cfm


AMEN, Darth Vicious

 

Darth Vicious, you've just become my hero with that statement. Besides, how can a government go in and help everyone when a large portion of the people there are attacking the rescue workers? That is a fact, I saw it on the news. As far as the accusations of funding being stripped and help being diverted, the individuals spouting off that BS should can it. It doesn't help anyone or anything short of their own personal agendas.

 

Brandon Badeaux, who lives down there, said that you should donate most to the Salvation Army, because they're the ones doing the most to help.

 

Before I begin, let me please ask people not to make any inane comments about me blindly supporting Bush, and that that must be the reason that I am writing this. Anybody who knows me knows that I disagree with the president on many issues. I vote based on ideas that the Republican Party is often no better than Democrats on. So again, no stupid comments and accusations.
The problem with so many on this thread is not that they disagree with and criticize the government. I think that between the federal, state, and local authorities, there are plenty of people to blame. I will not do so. This is not the appropriate place. Had I used my father's funeral to advocate for the political positions that my father, mother, and I shared, my mother would have been horrified, and rightfully so. I know that the concepts of good form, civility, and approrpriate conduct are not upheld much today, but in this case they should be. Now, please stop political statements until the tragedy is over. There is a place and time to criticize the government, but this is not it.
Finally, there is the fact that this thread is not designed for this debate. Many people who might want to read about how to help Katrina victims on and off this board have probably been chased away. For that, anyway who contributed to even a single person being turned away by such discussions of politics should be ashamed of themselves. It might seem hard for me, Tiershon_Fett, and others to realize at times, but some people do not care about politics as much as many of us do, and will not wade through the debates. Note: I only said Tiershon_Fett as an example, there are many others TF, so please do not be offended. Please, before we start criticizing the authorities from either party, let us all, Left, Right, and Center, help the victims. They are what is important, not us and our petty arguments. God bless. -JacenSolo48

 

Its such a tragedy for things like this to happen. And that there are people out there like the looters who take advantage of other peoples misery and helplessness.

The sad fact is that there will always be those who take advantage of others misfortune or of something as terrible as this.

 

I suspect that the vast majority of "looters" were simply taking necessary food and water that retailers wouldn't have been able to sell anyway.

 

Probably, but for some reason I don't think they were the ones who were taking pot shots at the National Guard. The worst part is, the minority who are only out to take advantage of the situation are preventing help to come to those who are just trying to survive and protect their families. It's a sad, messed-up world we live in, and it's only getting worse. However, that does not by any means ecxuse others from doing their part to help. As much as it pains me I feel obliged to paraphrase Jacen Solo (from TJK). The problem lies not in what we do, but in our failure to act.

By the way, I have a friend whose uncle and grandfather recently passed away, and her father is going down to help quell the anarchy in the Superdome.

 

Why are there still people at the Superdome? How long are they going to wait? Til everyone's dead? Answer is yes, it won't be long now. People can't live more than a week with no water.

 

I humbly ask that all complaints be directed away from this "Katrina HELP" thread and that you open a separate thread to discuss the "inadaquacy" of the relief effort that's saved thousands. I mean no disrespect to those who have. Thank you.

 

Please stop political statments everyone. This thread is for hurricane relief, not arguments. It is distasteful to bring up politics or political criticisms until after the crisis is over. I believe government on all levels screwed up, but you will not hear me carping about how. I have a sense of appropriateness that will not allow it.
For goodness sakes people, can any life situation be divorced of politics to you? Must you always find a way to bring in your political opinions into everything you write? Contrary to popular opinion, politics is not that important, and in the end will only be an insignificant part of any of our lives. At least it is for me. I feel sorry for any of you whose lives are so empty that politics is so important to you. People come first, not political opinions. God bless. -JacenSolo48