Britta, deep rock and all the other water bottlers need to get those survivors some water. For gods sake there are BABIES DYING down there. Ready to use Formula is needed and someone needs to take it to them if the government isn’t moving fast enough. If ANYONE can pull strings for these people and get food and water I KNOW there would be people that would be greatful. Somebody PLEASE help them!!
Before anyone reams me out look. I would LOVE to help but I am on 24 hour oxygen, have 2 small children and no car. I have to wonder what I would have done had I been down there in my condition now. I am in tears and feel so helpless for these people. I’ve put together a care package of food and sent it to my exhusband in Lafayette with hopes that he can get it and give it to someone that needs it… ANYTHING helps. Why can’t we Dopers do something to help?
We as Dopers can’t do much personally except donate to the Red Cross. This is a volatile dangerous situation and rescue workers are doing the best they can. The National Guard will be arriving soon, Navy ships are on the way, and helicopters are ferrying people out of the area.
The problem is, there is no safe place in New Orleans now. They have to get people out of the city altogether. It’s not like what happened here during the hurricanes last summer, where people could drive to a nearby shelter. The Superdome was supposed to be a shelter, remember? Now they’re having to evacuate it.
This is a catastrophe unlike anything we’ve ever had to deal with. The last city completely destroyed by a natural disaster was San Francisco back in 1906. New Orleans is gone. Og only knows if it can come back.
Give blood, write a check. I know Disney is donating $2 million. Help is coming. The problem is getting the help into the city.
In addition to making a monetary contribution (which my husband’s employer, Viacom, is matching 100%), we are working on trying to get down there to assist in our capacities as CERT volunteers . Our Fire Chief just forwarded an email indicating that FEMA is doing “resource identification” and asking if there can be CERT volunteers available for a minimum of 2 weeks to assist in the hurricane area. It’s the kind of situation we’ve been doing ongoing training for for 3 years, and we’re anxious to help if we can. We just need to make sure we’ll still have jobs when we get back and be paid while we’re gone. The likelihood is that if either of us can go at all, it’ll be one of us, not both. But we’re trying.
And since CERT is a national program, there must be other Dopers who are CERT members in their communities, so I urge you to contact your local Chief and find out if you might be needed.
I’ve half seriously considered tossing cases of bottled water into the Mississippi River (in Memphis) so it could float down to New Orleans. It seems it would get there faster than the relief agencies are getting it there.
I can’t go down there to help, but I’m going to go donate some toiletries to one of the several local shelters a little later this morning. And yes, they do want donations of stuff, on the local level. I’ll also give 'em twenty bucks on top of it. There’s a lot of people up here who’ve lost everything.
I wouldn’t be stuck in a shelter for weeks, but I might well have gotten stuck in one with my SO for a few days until we figured out whose parents’ house to go to and consider our options from there.
I received permission from my boss to take my vacation time on a needed basis. My wife, who bless her heart, would love to go but due to health reasons cannot, fully supports me volunteering with the Red Cross. I have already called my local Red Cross who will be calling back when the needed training class starts. I was informed that this will be a long term support basis and after training I could be used right away or not for months. (For 3 weeks at a time) Regrettably I would not go if it is more then 4-5 months in the future, because of personal reasons.
I have combat medic training, I have a CDL, I have a current physical, I even have a current YMCA CPR card. And they are telling me it could be months before I would be needed. I could drive a water truck down today, I could drive a truck full of donated supplies down today, yet I was told it could be months. I let them know that I may not be able to do it in months but could do it right now, or in the coming weeks.
I wish there was more I could do to help, donated money check, offered myself for manpower check, now I can only hope and pray those suffering people get the help now.
Look, the problem isn’t that there aren’t enough bottles of water or enough food. Driving a carload of food and water to Louisiana isn’t going to help anyone. The problem is getting the food and water to the refugees. If you can drive your carload of supplies to someone, then they won’t need your help, they’ve already gotten help. The people that need help are the people that you can’t reach because they’re isolated by high water, the roads are out, the bridges are out, the water is too shallow to navigate by boat. If you are a trained helicopter pilot then you might be able to help out. Otherwise you’ll just be another refugee clogging the roads and preventing emergency crews from getting to the victims.
Yeah, my boss notified me yesterday we would make our fleet of 18-wheelers available to transport supplies to the affected areas. He also said our company would purchase several thousand gallons of water and truck it down ourselves.
The Red Cross told us “thanks, but no thanks.” They’ve apparently got enough water and such at the moment, and they can get it to the edges of the affected areas. We’re on the call list, in case supplies run short, but for now what the relief agencies are asking for is cash.
It’s frustrating to see what’s going on down there and not being able to do something personally. I’ve donated to the Red Cross and Salvation Army because I feel like those are the two of the main agencies that would be there, even though there are a number of others equally as worthy.
Locally, all of the hotels and motels are full of people who fled Katrina. The Red Cross has opened up a shelter here and may open another one soon. I have learned that there is a need for clothing, toiletries, etc. locally so I’m donating that type of stuff here. It feels like I’m doing something for somebody.
I suggest to those of you who have people staying in your towns that you find out what needs those people may have. These are people who left with some clothes, cash and all but didn’t count on things being as bad as they are. Most of the times it’s a matter of evacuating for a few days then going home. This time, it looks like a few days may turn into a matter of months, so there are going to be long term needs for them.
I wish there was more that we could do right now, but all there is right now is donating money.
A family of a friend of my MIL’s is down in Louisiana and they lost everything and one of the people has cystic fibrosis. We are buying new (long-awaited) living room furniture this week and we’re sending them our retired set as well as $100 cash.
There will be a televised event tonight benefiting the Red Cross. If you haven’t donated, please feel free to call. Our company (among others) is using our equipment and a volunteer staff to answer. Heck, you might even reach me!
Hollywood Poker is matching the prize pools 100% for each of its celebrity tournaments during the month of September and donating it to the Red Cross.
Poker Room is holding two aid tourneys, one on 9/10 and one on 9/11. PR is also matching the prize pools 100% and offering players the option of donating some or all of their winnings. PR players can also make cash donations via gift vouchers on the site.
