Acting Locally: What You Can do in Your Community
Charity Navigator
September 23, 2005
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As the over $1 billion already raised for victims of Hurricane Katrina shows, Americans are generous and eager to help their neighbors in a crisis - whether those neighbors are next door, across the country, or on the opposite side of the world. Recently, Charity Navigator Executive Director Trent Stamp appeared on the CBS Early Show and discussed how local communities can band together to both support the victims of Rita and Katrina and make sure they are prepared to meet their own needs in a future crisis. His tips appear below:
- Have a fundraiser and donate the proceeds to an established charity. Bake sales, block parties, and pancake feeds are all good ways to bring a community together for a worthy cause. Any gathering can be used as a venue to collect donations for hurricane relief. For example, some college football booster groups getting together to watch their favorite teams took advantage of the gathering to collect donations.
- Hold a blood drive or donate blood. The victims of Hurricane Rita and Katrina do not necessarily need blood, but with two of
- Get trained as a disaster volunteer. In a time of crisis, properly trained disaster volunteers are the only people with the skills and knowledge necessary to help. Natural disasters are a fact of life, and developing a pool of trained individuals ready to respond and help the victims is one of the key ways we have to prepare ourselves in the event of a future emergency.
- Volunteer your time or donate to a charity in your local community. In a time of emergency, the poor, sick, elderly, and most vulnerable members of our communities are the ones who suffer the most. By volunteering or donating to a local charity you can reach out and connect with the most vulnerable members of society and make your community and the nation as a whole, stronger and better prepared to face whatever challenges lie ahead. In addition, the rising gas prices and the strain of Rita and Katrina may mean that many charities will face a difficult winter. Your gift can make sure that the charities that look out for the needy and neglected can sustain themselves for years to come.
