For those of you who want to make donations of goods, this is the perfect site. A fellow blogger, Grace Davis from CA, joined with another blogger, Victoria Powell from Mississippi, to create this effort. There are lists of shelters, the items each shelter is asking for, and other information on how to directly help these people in need. Please, go check it out, and contribute if you can.

Katrina Direct Relief

By Ginny~moderator on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 06:53 am:

With respect, Amy, and those who want to help "directly", the best thing is still to send money. If 100 people answer a shelter's response for (as an example) baby food today, and another 100 tomorrow, and another 100 the next day, that shelter is going to be overwhelmed with baby food. Send them money and they can buy baby food today and if the need tomorrow is for diapers, they can buy diapers. A lot of the smaller shelters don't have the staff to spare to sort donated items nor the space to store them.

If you really want to give something more tangible than money, see what group in your area - like the VFW or local fire companies, are collecting specific kinds of things. Usually the collecting agency does the sorting, packs the gifts, and trucks them down - usually to a central location which is able to keep track of what is needed at specific locations and get it delivered.

I do understand the need to give something more personal than money, but I also think it can create unintended burdens for the places you would be shipping it to.

By Beth on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 11:34 am:

Honestly I think people are going to have to start looking closer to home to donate also. We had a convoy of four trucks that left here last Fri. They were turned down several times and they had to drive further and from LA to MS to find somewhere that would take there stuff. Can you believe it! But on the other hand our paper is reporting that they need things for the people that have moved here. About 105.

By Crystal915 on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 11:55 am:

I understand the need for monetary donations, this is more for those who cannot donate money, but have other things they can send. They update when things are recieved, to try and cut down on the overdonation. It's not a perfect system, but it had been helping so far.

By Ginny~moderator on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 12:34 pm:

Crystal - apologies. I don't know why I thought and wrote Amy.

By Crystal915 on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 01:04 pm:

LOL, I knew you mean tme... Amy and I must just be 2 peas in a pod. LOL