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Disaster Relief - how you can help

9K views 61 replies 40 participants last post by  RideGnu 
#1 ·
Dear ClubWRX.net Members,

Many of you have heard about the damages caused by Katrina and have the urge to get up and help. I've thought to myself about how I can contribute to the disaster many times and I have to admit it is diffcult to take action.

It is important to realize that people need all the help that they can get, and we need to get off our asses and contribute. People have lost their lives, properties, families, friends, pets, and their HOME. The scenes that you see on the news is not just another headline, it is reality for hundreds and thousands of people.

Here are some of the links with information on how you can help:

American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/

Specific Information on Donating to the American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html

National Voluntary Organization http://www.nvoad.org/

Points of Light Foundation http://www.pointsoflight.org/about/katrina/

American Diabetes Association http://www.diabetes.org/hurricane-katrina.jsp

Here's a really good list from CNN http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/katrina/help.center/

Please make sure that you donate to a reputable organization. It would be better for all of you to make a donation directly to the organization to avoid any possible scams, on top of that a direct donation will ensure that money is not wasted through transaction fees. Please tell us how you took part in helping the victims of Katrina. I would really love to see how members of ClubWRX.net are giving back to society. Also, please list any companies that are willing to match the contributions from non-employees. I'll keep this thread up to date with the latest links.

I don't want to hear any comments relating to politics and keepin mind that you may get banned from inappropriate comments.


Member Contribution Summary (updated periodically):
(note the "+ $xxx" stands for a matching contribution)

BlazinWRX - $200 to the Red Cross
Skreekin - $50 to the Red Cross +$50 to Salvation Army + $15 Halo Shirt
04.SPT.WRX - $100 to the Red Cross and another $100 + $100
jeremy96gase - $200 to the Red Cross
FASSTI - Approximately $2000 worth of Food and Water
WRXout - $117
Fox05 - $50 to school and fire department
Mrh00nel2 - Clothes
Wade-0 - $50 to the Red Cross
ButtDyno - $500 to the Red Cross
BrianH - $200 + $200 (company matching) to the Red Cross
csacom - $100 to the Red Cross
ProEnginePower - $5 to the Red Cross
t-rx - $500 to the Red Cross
Gearboy - $50 to the Red Cross
tfaz - $50 to the Red Cross
GotWRX03 - Spent a weekend helping with distribution and shelter
Arsk - Donated a $100 + $100. Also volunteered 3 days at the Houston Food Bank and Reliant Center.
Kevin972 - volunteered 5 days of evacuation work in New Orleans
Midk - $50
 
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#27 ·
thinkledge said:
If anyone reading this thread is also a fan of Halo you can purchase a t-shirt off of bungie.net for 19.99. Most of the that price ($15) goes to relief efforts. They are also contributing a portion of their sales of other goods from the month of September to relief efforts. Even if you are not a halo fan, you probably know someone who is...spread the word or buy some stuff for a family member or friend. This is just an additional medium in order to get money and supplies to those who need it.
Done! Anyone else out there, if you think that you can't afford to help, there is plenty that you can do. While cash is almost always preferred by Red Cross, Salvation Army, FEMA, contribute in any way that you can. Got unused air miles on one of your credit cards? Contact your credit card company or the airline and see if its possible to donate those to victims. Got a change jar at home? Use the Coinstar and donate it. Work for a large business, find out if they match employee contributions. (Even a small business!)

This is a monumental task everyone. Lets see what all of us can do to help lighten the burden and help all those that have been displaced by Katrina.

Also, Tim, is it possible to sticky this? With as many posts as we get a day, its easy for something to get lost or forgotten. I know that we don't want that to happen. Thanks everybody! My prayers are with all ya!
 
#31 ·
csacom said:
I just donated $100 to the red cross. Does anyone know if there is a place that picks up clothes? I have a few bags of those I can donate as well.
Your best bet with donating clothes is donate them locally. From what I read at the Red Cross website, the reason that they want cash is because they can buy what they need for the disaster, and also because they can buy close to the disaster area. Transporting clothes can get very expensive. Give the clothes to your local Salvation Army chapter. Make sure that they are clean, folded and in good shape before you give them away though. I suggest that everyone take some time and take a look at a few of the websites that BlazinWRX has posted. They will tell you what their needs are and how and where to donate.
 
#33 ·
A couple of days after the hurricane I made a $500 dollar donation to the Red Cross. I plan on making another donation for the same amount if things continue to stay this bad.
 
#34 ·
I spent at least 50 hours in the past 3 days getting my company ready to deploy. I packed myself and faught very hard to go... To my dismay my battalion comander decided that it is too hard to train cadets, even though 3 of us that were trying to volunteer are prior service :rolleyes:, and we were shot down.

Either way we worked very hard to get our troops squared away.

good luck 2-162, godspeed.

PS: It might not be a common known fact but the wardon in New Orleans let the prisoners go because he could not protect them from the storm, and that is why a lot of looting is going on, also our MP company got shot at by AK47's as soon as they dismounted from their trucks.. this shiet is like iraq.
 
#35 · (Edited)
GIRex said:
PS: It might not be a common known fact but the wardon in New Orleans let the prisoners go because he could not protect them from the storm, and that is why a lot of looting is going on, also our MP company got shot at by AK47's as soon as they dismounted from their trucks.. this shiet is like iraq.
Please be careful with misinformation. The prisoners were not "let go" as you assert. They were moved from the Orleans Parish jail on the corner of Tulane & Broad due to rising water. Initially, the prisoners were not to be evacuated as the facility was sound enough to withstand the anticipated affects of Katrina...then the levee broke. The prisoners were maintained under gaurd on the freeway on-ramp for >a day before being put on busses and moved out, much to the dismay and anger of the civilians also living on the freeway.

The looting of the unacceptable kind (not for the sake of feeding one's family) was committed by thugs and citizens, alike. The roving shooters are nothing more than the every day thug element so prevelant in New Orleans. I grew up in the metro area and now reside in the outskirts, but still see the news every night. These activities were an extension of everyday life here, only it's played out on national TV. Not defending them, mind you. I think they should die, which is exactly what happened when some suburban thugs tried that crap in Jefferson Parish. The cops there iced a few of 'em right quick.

While I'm no expert on all of the happenings of Katrina, I and my family are currently evacuated to Houston and we spent the first six days watching coverage day & night. It was like a train wreck. I could not not watch. This is the place I've called home for 45 years. To many of the scenes are all to familiar to us. It is truly heartbreaking and I hope none of you ever have to experience such a tragedy.

Peace,

Curtis
 
#36 ·
Thank You all for your support & donations

I want to thank you all for contributing to Hurricane Katrina relief in anyway that you can, monetarily or in volunteering your time. Every single dollar helps, so don't worry about "how much".

I am one of the fortunate ones. After being born and raised in New Orleans and adjoining Jefferon Parish, I moved our family to Des Allemands 11 years ago, which is ~30 miles south-west of the city on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Our home and area was unharmed, short of some trees and shingles.

My sister's back yard is the 17th Street Canal levee; the one that broke and flooded N.O. The breach occurred about two blocks from her house, which is a total write-off. Fortunately for them, they both have companies here in Houston which are covering their living expenses while they work from here. They can not return until the water is drained from the city.

My Dad's house is in Metairie and my son's apartment is in Kenner (Jefferson Parish) and, as yet, we do not know the damage. My son left Houston tonight to return home. We plan on leaving tomorrow as almost all services have been restored to our area. Our drive to Houston took 15 hours. Hopefully, the return will be the normal 5 hours.

The people here in Houston have been incredible, opening their arms and accepting all of the displaced people from the N.O. area. It really gives me faith in mankind, again, which after watching the nightly news at home everynight had all but dissolved.

And the kindness and concern shown on this forum is overwhelming. I hope that those of you who were not affected never are. And for those of you who were, either directly or through loved ones, God bless you and yours. I can only hope good things for all of you. As I said, my wife, son and myself are extremely fortunate to still have a home, and job, to go home to. Many folks don't and their lives have been shattered. And this is only the beginning. This tragedy is far from over. I only hope that the help continues to come to those most in need after the headlines wear off. Anybody remember how quickly the Tsunami disappeared from the news?

One thing is for sure; the loss of the Port of New Orleans will be felt by this country for several years to come.

And for all of you who are embarassed to tell your people that you love them, learn from this. Life can change in the blink of an eye. Whether a natural disaster or driving down the street. Let your loved ones know that you love them every chance you get, cuz one day you will be out of chances.

Peace,

Curtis
 
#38 ·
Hey i'd also like to mention what a great thing u guys r doing contributing to this disaster. My girlfriend is from new orleans and i live a few hours away from new orleans.
Many may not realize the reality of this issue. All my friends and families have literally lost their homes and jobs. They've picked up whatever was left of their possessions and have scattered throughout the neighboring states to start over again. Some of my friends have moved to New jersey some to texas and some to florida. My girlfriends family has moved up to monroe, louisiana with me and my girlfriend. All my money i've saved up (for rims) has gone to my gf's family to help them get back on their feet. I have gone to the civic center where they are housing the refugees to help out.

I've also donated all my books(i go to University of Louisiana of monroe) because my school is taking students from University of New orleans etc.

People are starting a life from scrap, and it's wonderful to see others helping.
 
#42 ·
well, i guess this counts as me helping, a group of about 25 guys from the church a few of my friends go to are suppose to be going somewhere in lousiana, not exactly new orleans but somewhere in the area to help in the shelters and with cleanup efforts and they needed to raise i think it was $10,000 to do what they wanted to, i think so far they have about 6,000 or more, $200 coming from me, so i guess that counts right = )
 
#44 ·
I just wanted to say thank you from everyone in south mississippi for all that everyone is doing. We need all the help we can get. Its great to see a country pull together to bad it takes a situtaion like this to do that.
But Thank you for all your help. Ive seen more then i want to see and delt with alot of people who lost everything and its a hard time and rough situtaion for them to be in and me. I was lucky and didnt loose anything but the roof to my house which is now cause the floors to buckel and probaly gonna end up looseing the house all together but i got my life and family and after seeing what ive seen i can deal with that.
Thanks again.

Ivan
 
#47 ·
Made a donation to the Salvation Army for $50 and bought one of the Halo T-shirts on bungie.net that are being sold to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Glad that the waters are finally dropping. Hats off to all the EMS, fire, police, military, volunteers for everything that they have done, will do, and continue to do to stabilize a critical situation. It makes me proud to see us pull together like this.
 
#48 ·
along with about 30 other friends actually volunteered last weekend to help get a shelter and distribution are get situated - few miles off of Biloxi. our crew was there since Friday evening and we left mid-monday. another crew got ther in the afternoon to replace us, but wasn't enough. we tried as much as we could to get the community involved and to keep the work rolling.

my wife and I, along with our friends wants to go back and do some more work. they badly need the help.
 
#49 ·
The post is on the frontpage and an announcement is made on the top of every forum so I don't think it's necessary to sticky it. I just found out that my girlfriend donated $2500 last night and I plan to go through my closet and donate anything that I don't wear more than a couple times a month. Check with your local listings to see how you can donate your clothes, I know that Salvation Army will actaully send a truck to do a pickup directly from your house. Remember that most of the donations you make, including clothes that you no longer wear, can serve as a tax write off.

I just updated the contribution summery the best I can with the given information. I may have missed some people becuase the information provided wasn't clear enough. If you have responded to the post and you don't see yourself on the summery list please send me a PM and let me know how you contributed.
 
#51 ·
Katrina devestation....

I just returned last night from riding and h the EMS crews doing evacuation work in New Orleans. It was 5 of the most intense days I have ever spent. Believe me, people ARE going balls to the wall trying to help out.

Our days started at 4:30 am, quick breakfast and coffee, then assignments were handed out. Then there was a 60 mile ride with a caravan of ambulances and sear and rescue squads intot the cities to retrieve people and render aid.

There was lots of confusion, as one might expect. The resources were poorly focused overall. Once the feds got involved and security (read M16's and SWAT teams vs punks with 9 mm's) were present, then the real evacuation began with the military and twin rotor twins doing the heavy lifting from the convention center and dome. The stench was incredible, just like walking through a large dump yard. The sick people were taken first, and others farmed out to many different cities and states.

The destruction in the St. Bernard's parish was incredible. It looked like someone put the entire landscape in a garbage disposal. The local EMT's and fire crews\paramedics put on heroic performances during the first 3 days under incredibly adversity, some working constantly. Most held up pretty good, some did not. We cared for a lot of soft tissue injuries. Houses with dead, were marked with X's to be retrieved later. The storm surge in this area rose 10-15 feet in 10 minutes, occuring after the worst of the storm was thought to have past, catching many by suprise. The total dead won't be known for some time, many refusing to leave their homes, having ridden out past storms without much trouble. When the levy broke surrounding the lake above New Orleans, they were hit from 2 sides and that's when **** hit the fan.

Lots of scared dogs, some mean, several having to be shot...others cowering for a little food and affection, their owner's dead..or gone. Many tetnus shots and a few rabies series were begun.

I worked in the Methodist Dome in Baton Rough housing 400-450 people, most without their medications, many soft tissue infections but no dysentary yet. The people were holding up pretty well, and the Red Cross and local volunteers were outstanding!! The clinic run by volunteer nurses, docs and med students from all over the country.

I really believe in the goodness of people and this proved it. Yes, mistakes in planning and execution were made, but I'll leave that to the politicians. Thanks for helping out...many hands to make light work.

Kevin
 
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