What have you done for Katrina?

[jBirch]

I've been following the discussions here on the board and reading the articles in the World Media with a bit of detached interest. There's a lot of public blame without much public help, IMHO. The same old party lines that were first drawn as vividly as they were during the 2000 US Presidential election are still being marched down. Katrina relief was a failure because Bush invaded Iraq. Huh?

So my question is this: what have you done to help?

I'll tell you what I've done: bupkis. Nadda. Zero. I've extended my condolences where appropriate and toyed with the idea of joining the Red Cross (I've got skills that could help). Alas, I run a fencing club, instruct a local cadet group and can't afford the time off work to go help. Heck, I haven't even written a cheque (though I did give blood, acquiring, in the process, a nifty red rubber band that I wear proudly on my wrist like some high school student council member).

I'm kinda ashamed of myself for my inaction though I feel just as righteous about my opinion on what should or could have been done better.

So I thought I'd ask: what have you done to help? Maybe your answers will give me something productive to do here in my local community to at least honour the victims in my own way and help prevent something similar from happening here (3,556' ASL).

James.

[jeff]

My contribution is financial (I'd only get in the way otherwise), which is what places like the Red Cross prefer. Giving via my employer, not fencing.net, because they match my contribution $ for $

[L.O.A.S.]

Financial as well. JBirch, I disagree about your comment regarding not much help from the public. Although not as well covered, I understand fellow citizens all over the country are lending a hand. Here is a picture of one of our ordinary citizens who just couldn't wait for the pumps to start draining the flood waters out of New Orleans, and started his own water displacement operation.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/wea...ility&index=71

[Larrison]

3 digit financial donation
Contributed goods to 2 relief supply drives
- minor household sundries such as shampoo, toothpaste, soap, new batteries, etc.
- Used clothing, shoes, phones, etc

Also personally -
- Went and re-inventoried personal disaster supplies, and checked status of food, water, living supplies etc. (Found I have to replace the spare tank of propane I keep around for the gas BBQ behind the house. )

Last I saw, financial contributions were over $300 M from individuals and corporations.

[epeeisky]

I happen to volunteer at the largest hospital that was unaffected by the disaster so I worked 3 twelve to 14 hour shifts in the Emergency Room. I also gave blood and donated my leftover hurricane supplies to the special needs shelter at LSU and worked as an orderly in the triage center there.

[needle]

I did financial contribution through my employer - they do one to one match, which they organized very quickly.
Not much else I can do (same as jeff wrote, I would just get in the way).

[Army Fencer]

I joined the Red Cross to help at the local shelter where they tooks some of the evacuees. I've provided basic medical care (taken blood pressure, pulse, and medical history) and helped organize a first aid station there. I'm starting tonight with a midnight to 6am shift as a "medical administrator."

I organized a drop-off point so members of my school could donate basic items (clothes, toys, soap, etc) to help in the relief effort. I also took their donations to a larger organization that could handle the stuff.

I'd like to go down to LA or MS to help, but my school won't let me ("it's not safe"). I had to go on leave just to do what I'm doing now.

I've donated very little financially ($20). I'm poor and I'm about to have significant expenses in the near future.

[mrbiggs]

Originally Posted by jBirch

I've been following the discussions here on the board and reading the articles in the World Media with a bit of detached interest. There's a lot of public blame without much public help, IMHO. The same old party lines that were first drawn as vividly as they were during the 2000 US Presidential election are still being marched down. Katrina relief was a failure because Bush invaded Iraq. Huh?

I don't think that blame creates a lack of help. Most of the people I know are doing what they can to help and blaming if they feel it's appropriate.

I agree that some of the blame is ridiculous, but I also think that half of it is defensive blame. Some might call it "blaming people", some might call it "placing responsibility." Sure, there's been alot of blame, but this is a tragedy partially caused by the failure of government. And yet NO ONE has accepted blame! The mayor of New Orleans is desparately grabbing at whatever he can get to save his career. I'm not familiar with the governor of Louisiana, or what he's doing, so I can't comment on that. I don't think that Bush was personally responsible for any of this...yet he DID appoint Brown to FEMA. And, I think 3 days ago, he said that Brown was doing a "good job." (It was on TV so I can't link it.) Today, Brown was finally removed from his job as head of the hurricane releif, which is a start. I only hope that he doesn't serve as a scapegoat to allow equally responsible administrators to absolve themselves of blame.
In other words, I don't think the problem is the blaming going on, the problem is that no one is accepting responsibility for the things they did wrong.

And my familly donated money to the Red Cross; I don't know how much.

[Epee_Pox]

From the BBC:


Katrina sparks mass US aid giving

Americans have rallied to give an unprecedented amount of aid in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

They have already pledged around $587m (£319m) - more than initial donations for 9/11 and the Asian tsunami - according to a newspaper that tracks charitable giving.

But it is not just money that Americans, touched by the tragedy unfolding on their doorstep, are giving.

They have opened their homes, their businesses and their livelihoods to help the hundreds of thousands affected by the storm.

Dozens of adverts offering free accommodation, jobs and relocation packages have been posted on websites.

Shannon Hunter is offering a home to a single mother of two or three children in a "great neighbourhood" of Asheville, North Carolina, close to an "excellent school".

She told the BBC that, being a mother herself, "I think right now the kids and the single moms really need a lot of help".

A small manufacturing firm near Topeka in Kansas is advertising for three skilled machinists and says it will give priority to victims of the hurricane.

Brad Wenger, Vice-President of Wenger Manufacturing, says it is a chance to offer longer-term benefits to people, but denies it exploits their misfortune.

"We have a need for several machinist positions so if someone's willing to relocate, that would also help us and hopefully we can help them out also," he told the BBC's World Today programme.

Brad Snook, who has offered rooms in his Chicago apartment, said: "I don't know how you couldn't come to this decision when you see what people have gone through".

Town councils, places of worship and community groups have gathered together supplies of clothing, nappies, food and water for the states devastated by the hurricane.

Celebrities have joined the effort, offering donations or getting involved hands-on in the relief effort.

----------------------
BOX:___US AID PLEDGES
BOX:___$61.bn - US government
BOX:___$587m - US donations*
BOX:___*According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy
----------------------

Black music stars such as Diddy and Jay-Z have given large donations and appealed for aid to help the African-American communities most affected by the tragedy.

"These people in the dome listen to our music," said hip-hop star Timbaland in an appeal to his peers for donations.

The American Red Cross says it has already received $485m in gifts and pledges. It is "the largest response to a single disaster" in its history, says vice-president Joe Becker.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy newspaper, which tracks the contributions, has calculated that Americans have given at least $587m.

This compares with $239m in the 10 days after the 9/11 attacks, and $163m collected nine days after the tsunami.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...as/4230334.stm

Published: 2005/09/09 18:43:39 GMT

© BBC MMV

[Larrison]

Originally Posted by jBirch

I've been following the discussions here on the board and reading the articles in the World Media with a bit of detached interest. There's a lot of public blame without much public help, IMHO. The same old party lines that were first drawn as vividly as they were during the 2000 US Presidential election are still being marched down. Katrina relief was a failure because Bush invaded Iraq. Huh? [ .. ]

This has been bugging me, in that there was an implication from the "World Media" that Americans were so divided by politics that we collectively were not supporting the Katrina relief. So I've been watching out for some data on this... I've seen a couple of comments posted in a couple of boards/ blogs (Daily Kos in particular) to "let those Red states hang by themselves for voting for Bush" and some other comments that a Democratic Governor was not being supported by Bush. Other than someone's stupid personal comments, I don't think that's true.

And I will note that according to http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...na_charities_2 that Americans hav responded as they always do, by opening their pockets and arms for those in need.

Less than two weeks after the storm hit the Gulf Coast, private gifts have soared to nearly $700 million, a pace exceeding the response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The American Red Cross alone had received $503 million in gifts and pledges as of Friday, nearly equaling the $534 million collected for its Liberty Fund over two months following the Sept. 11 attacks

There have also been a spate of articles about national organizations working to get folks jobs and places to live, while NO and Mississippi get their feet back under them.

The Birmingham News "Nearly 1,700 jobs for evacuees posted locally"
http://www.al.com/business/birmingha...570.xml&coll=2

Seattle Times "Job fairs help Katrina victims find work"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine...Katrina%20Jobs

Sweetwater Texas "Employment assistance offered to Katrina victims"
http://www.sweetwaterreporter.net/ar.../news/news.txt

Philadelphia Inquirer "New group will link survivors with jobs: A Philadelphia couple is working with government, business and foundations to help evacuees find work."
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/n...a/12606862.htm

[Epee_Pox]

"[N]early every institution with which I come into daily contact -- my library, my grocery store, my search engine -- has already donated time or money to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and I don't think this makes me or my community unique. A Zogby poll conducted last week found that 68 percent of Americans had donated money to hurricane relief. An ABC News/Washington Post poll published yesterday found that 60 percent had already donated, and a further 28 percent intend to... [T]he worst failures of the past two weeks have been big government failures. The biggest successes, by contrast, have come out of this country's incredibly vibrant, amazingly diverse and fantastically generous civil society. Sooner or later, it will be impossible not to draw political lessons from that paradox"

-- Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum in today's paper.