By: Dora Brogdon
By now everyone has heard about Hurricane Harvey and the flooding in Texas. There are 50 counties flooded and 66,000 homes without any electricity with 30,000 people staying in shelters according to news sources. Rain levels have reached 15 to 25 inches in water while a few other areas suffered over 50 inches of down pour.
One way to help the survivors down in Texas would be donating to relief efforts. It is the most effective way to support the survivors during their recovery.
Donating personal items such as used clothing, perishable foods, medicine, and household items is not what is needed. Donating personal items at this time will instead cause the recovery staff to be pulled away from helping those in need to sort, package, transport, warehouse, and distribute items that in most cases, the survivors can not use.
Two trusted non-profit organizations helping with Hurricane Harvey victims are the American Red Cross and the North Carolina Baptist Men’s Association. You may donate to the American Red Cross relief efforts by visiting: https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-harvey.
On August 25th the North Carolina Baptist Men started to organize their relief efforts. You may donate to the North Carolina Baptist Men’s Association for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts by visiting: https://missionaries.namb.net/projects/full/hurricane-harvey-response
Another way you could possibly help is by volunteering yourself and actually heading down to Texas. To ensure your safety and everyone else’s safety it would be best to wear proper safety gear and carry your valid identification.
There may be times when you will be turned away by law enforcement if you try and enter a impacted zone that is not safe yet. All potential volunteers are asked to register with registered volunteer groups or charitable organizations. Volunteers may be for days, months, and even years ahead.
According to Wikipedia, the definition of the actual word Texas means friends or allies. May our friends receive all the assistance they need during this difficult time.
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