Sept. 5, 2005

Double Your Katrina Survivors Donation!

For those that want their money to go a little bit further...
Warner Brothers, in conjunction with Ellen DeGeneres, is donating $500K plus will donate $1 for every $1 that's donated via Ellen's website (up to another $500K). It's a great way to instantly double your donation. The URL is:
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/showinfo/hurricane.html

You can mail or ship non-perishable items to these following locations, which have been confirmed are REALLY delivering services to folks in need.

Center for LIFE Outreach Center
121 Saint Landry Street
Lafayette, LA 70506
atten.: Minister Pamela Robinson
337-504-5374

Mohammad Mosque 65
2600 Plank Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
atten.: Minister Andrew Muhammad
225-923-1400
225-357-3079

Lewis Temple CME Church
272 Medgar Evers Street
Grambling, LA 71245
atten.: Rev. Dr. Ricky Helton
318-247-3793

St. Luke Community United Methodist Church
c/o Hurricane Katrina Victims
5710 East R.L. Thornton Freeway
Dallas, TX 75223
atten.: Pastor Tom Waitschies
214-821-2970

S.H.A.P.E. Community Center
3815 Live Oak
Houston, Texas 77004
atten.: Deloyd Parker
713-521-0641

Sept. 4, 2005

Free Voicemail for Hurricane Victims

Please Spread the word!

Air America Public Voicemail
1-866-217-6255
Air America Radio's Public Voicemail is a way for disconnected people to communicate in the wake of Katrina.

Here's how it works:

Call the toll-free number above, enter your everyday phone number, and then record a message. Other people who know your everyday phone number (even if it doesn't work anymore) can call Emergency Voicemail, enter the phone number they associate with you, and hear your message.

You can also search for messages left by people whose phone numbers you know.

Air America Radio will leave Public Voicemail in service for as long as this crisis continues. You can call it whenever you are trying to locate someone, or if you are trying to be found.

Obviously, for this to work, people need to know about it so please forward the number to as many people as you can. You can find out more about Katrina and the affected areas at airamericaradio.com.

Sept. 3, 2005

How You Can Help the Hurricane Victims

What happened during the aftermath of Katrina is a national tragedy, and the fact that help didn't get there fast enough made the situation that much worse. But even if you can't be there physically to help out, there's plenty you can do from home to make a difference. Here are a few suggestions. Feel free to spread these around on other blogs and emails. Thank you.

PLACES TO DONATE:
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Red Cross: This is a no-brainer. Donate as much as you think you can, and be sure to check in with your employer, school or church to see if they will be matching funds too -- to double your efforts! Plus all this is tax deductible! So it's really ridiculous not to give at least a little bit. Plus from the reports I'm reading on boingboing, it looks like the Red Cross are the only ones on the ball down there, getting people the aid they need.

ASPCA and The Humane Society: The last thing people think of with relief efforts is the pets that were lost or injured. The people are suffering, but I know I would feel even worse if my pet was lost or injured due to this tragedy as well. So donate some funds to helping the destroyed shelters and pet causes as well. If your cats and dogs had checkbooks, they probably would.

Amazon.com: You're already shopping there, so you might as well make a donation.

United Mileage Plus: They have a link for contributing to the relief effort. For Mileage Plus members, they will deposit 500 miles into your account for donations of $50 or more. You can also donate your miles (minimum 1000 miles) to the Charity Miles program which will use the miles for transport of relief personnel and volunteers.

OTHER WAYS TO HELP:
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Offer up a Spare Room: On Craigslist.com, people have been offering spare rooms to any hurricane victims that need a place to stay in order to get back on their feet. Even if you don't have a spare dwelling, just passing this link along to those who might, could be of some help.

Sell Your Stuff in a Charity Auction: Why not hold your own charity auction on Ebay.com? Sell some stuff you don't want anymore or make an original craft/art and sell it on Ebay. Tell folks that all the money will go right to Hurricane relief and then once you have the payment donate it to the cause of your choice: Red Cross, ASPCA, etc. Also be sure to BUY things in charity auctions to do your part for the cause.

Play a Benefit Concert: If you're in a band or have pals in bands, why not have an impromtu concert and give the profits to charity? It doesn't matter how big the event is, as long as you care enough to hold it!

Sept.1, 2005

S.O.S. from NOLA Survivors Blog

I'm trying desperately to keep abreast of what's happening down South since the hurricane ripped to shreds one of the coolest places on the planet. I'm shocked not only that the devestation was so massive, but also that the aid to the area is so slow and unorganized. Even many members of the media down there covering the news seem to be outwardly upset about the way people are being treated.

However, I was more drawn to a Livejournal blog by a hurricane survivor deep in the thick of things, who has been blogging comments from both survivors and the police about the situation. And it's completely horrifying.

Reports of the National Guard literally dropping supplies off a bridge to the stranded masses -- sometimes destroying the supplies themselves in the process out of fear of what the mob will do if they get too close. Not to mention snipers shooting at helicopers and the hospitals using them to evacuate. It's like some bizarre real-life zombie film except they're all alive and pissed off about the lack of supplies and information.

Here's a passionate plea straight from the NOLA survivors blog by interdictor:

In case anyone in national security is reading this, get the word to President Bush that we need the military in here NOW. The Active Duty Armed Forces. Mr. President, we are losing this city. I don't care what you're hearing on the news. The city is being lost. It is the law of the jungle down here. The command and control structure here is barely functioning. I'm not sure it's anyone's fault -- I'm not sure it could be any other way at this point. We need the kind of logistical support and infrastructure only the Active Duty military can provide. The hospitals are in dire straights. The police barely have any capabilities at this point. The National Guard is doing their best, but the situation is not being contained. I'm here to help in anyway I can, but my capabilities are limited and dropping. Please get the military here to maintain order before this city is lost.