How to Find the Right Charities to Help Hurricane Katrina
Victims?
by: Ofer Shoshani
How Can I Help The Victims Of Hurricane Katrina?
This question rises today in the minds of many Americans, trying
to help millions of people who are suffering from the devastation
of Hurricane Katrina and desperately need water, food, shelter
and medical care.
However, before you make any donation, make sure you find the
right charity to help Hurricane Katrina victims.
How to Find the Right Charity to Help Hurricane Katrina
Victims?
Give to a well established Charity: Don't let an unscrupulous
charity take advantage of your goodwill. Shop arround and find
a charity with a proven track record of success with dealing with
this region and this type of disaster. Avoid instant charities
created this week, specifically to deal with Hurricane Katrina
relief efforts.
Designate your donation: Many charities do encourage donors
not to designate their donation and let the charity to decide
how best to utilize the money. It is your donation, so depending
on your confidence in the charity's ability to make that determination,
you may want to tell the charity exactly how to use it. Remmember
to designate your gift specifically for Hurricane Katrina relief
efforts and by that ensure that your donation will be used for
the victims of this particular disaster.
Identify your preferences: "Disaster relief" comes
in many forms-emergency shelter, food, clean water, transportation,
medical assistance, even communications as aid workers coordinate
activities and survivors search for family members. Decide which
activities you want to support. There's no right or wrong answer,
just what's right for you and the charities will respect that.
Avoid Telemarketers and Identity theft: Be wary of fundraisers
who pressure you to make a contribution over the phone. Never
divulge your credit card information to someone soliciting you
via the phone. Instead, ask the fundraiser to send you written
information about the charity they represent and do some good
research on your own. Once you feel comfortable with the charity,
send the organization a check directly in the mail, or give through
their secure website.
Research And Follow Up: As always, take the time to find
a charity you can trust.
A sample list of Charities that help the victims of Hurricane
Katrina includes American Red Cross, American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, AmeriCares, America's Second
Harvest, Brother's Brother Foundation, Capital Area United Way,
Christian Relief Fund, Church World Service, Convoy of Hope, Feed
the Children, Mercy Corps, Operation Blessing International, Samaritan's
Purse, United Way of Miami-Dade, World Emergency Relief, and Network
For Good.
Trust your instincts: If you still have doubts about
a charity, don't contribute to it. Instead, find another nonprofit
that does the same kind of work and with which you feel comfortable,
then make your donation.
About The Author: Ofer Shoshani has been writing about economy,
culture and people for over 6 years as a professional journalist.
More of his work can be found at http://www.betotal.com - Save One Child Today
(a website dedicated to International Child Sponsorship programs.)
Donate online at http://www.betotal.com/katrina.html This article
was partly based on data found on Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) and GuideStar (www.guidestar.org)
websites. Thanks for your fine work.
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