UPDATED with another good direct idea:More to do for Hurricane Victims


It's off the front page, but the needs are still significant, and you can help directly.

Relief Opportunity #1: Winter Coats for Mississippi
My friend Alex forwarded me this. The San Jose Vietnamese community is coming together to help some of the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in a very practical way. Read on...
Winter is descending upon Biloxi very quickly (within the next 2-3 weeks,) and it will be miserably cold soon.  Thus, we would like to begin a winter coat drive for the school children (primarily from K-8).  We are looking to bring 2,000 winter coats to the children of Biloxi.  Northern California will do a drive for a thousand (1,000) and Southern California will also do a drive for a thousand winter coats.  We would like to conclude this drive by Thursday, October 27, 2005 and transport all the coats to Biloxi, MS and Bayou La Batre, AL on or before Halloween.  This would be a nice treat for Halloween!

 
They need all sizes for boys and girls.
 
The drop off point for Northern California is located at:
Viet Heritage Society
Saigon Business Center
1654 Burdette Drive, Suite 150
San Jose, CA 95121. 
(408) 238-7780
 
For Southern CA, the drop off point is located at:
TechUTrust, Inc.
c/o Thang Hoang
17165 New Hope Street, Suite E
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
(714) 755-1214
Once the 2,000 jackets have been secured, we will coordinate to transport them to Biloxi, MS.  It will be given to students in Biloxi, MS and Bayou La Batre, AL.  The intake and distribution agency will be:
Renew Hope Project
c/o Michael Hampton or Henry Huong Le
719 Howard Avenue
Biloxi, MS 39350
(228) 374-2818
Here are instructions to deliver the coat in proper condition: 
• Place the winter coat in clear plastic (dry-cleaning) bag;
• Label it with “Boy” or “Girl;” with the size of the coat clearly marked: Small, Medium, Large, or Extra Large;
• The label should be in white to provide contrast with the clear bag;
• The donor has the option to write a personal note to the recipient;
• The donor may write who it is from (Name of Donor, City, and State;) and
• If the coat is not new, please make certain it’s clean.
 
From the organizers:
In short, think of this as a coat/jacket version of “Toys for Tots.”
We are encouraging new coats/jackets.  Please think of this as a gift to that special boy or girl you’d like to provide a coat for.  We want you to start the process by going out and buying a coat for that one child you have in mind.  But while you’re there at the store, we hope you’ll be moved to buy more than just one.  You will find that the coats are relatively inexpensive.  As an example, you can find brand a new coat for as low as $18 at Wal-Mart. In other places, you can even find them for less.
 However, we are accepting coats that are other than new coats.  But, please be aware that we CANNOT and will NOT accept any coats/jackets that are not clean and not placed in a clear plastic bag.  There are piles and piles of donated used clothing littering the streets.  People forget that even if the families want to use those used clothing, they have no way of cleaning them.  By packaging these coats, they will come as gifts rather than burdens…  Also, it makes it a whole lot easier for us to keep clean, transport, and distribute. 
We would like to engage each and every one of you to buy at least one coat…more if you can.  Also, we would like you to send this email to just 5 of your friends and get them to buy a coat.  If you have a distribution list, please send this email on to your contacts.  With these small steps, we will exceed our goals of 2,000 jackets in less than a week and get them over to these communities before the bone chilling cold nights set in…
 Let’s get these children some nice TREATS for Halloween!
Relief Opportunity #2: Family to Family Aid
The women behind the Hurricane Katrina Direct Relief blog have moved on to the next step. Grace Davis can tell us all about it:
First, my deepest gratitude for your kind support of our modest but mighty blog project, Hurricane Katrina Direct Relief! As you know, this operation was simple: Our boots-on-the-ground Steel Magnolia, Victoria Powell of Madison, Mississippi, and her team of tireless Power Mom volunteers toured the disaster zone and reported what was needed in the communities to me, whereupon I would post these reports on the blog. This low key approach accomplished more than we thought possible or believable. Not only did our blog readers generously ship donations of clothing, supplies and food items to the shelters and churches, we were also able to assist a group of firefighters in Western Massachusetts in presenting a significant donation of firefighter equipment to the Gulf Coast. Pharmaceutical representatives shipped samples of medications to free/low cost clinics. Yard sales, donation stations, and benefit concerts were held on behalf of the communities described on the blog.  Additionally, we assisted in placing on-site volunteers, angels with chain saws and bobcats,to remove debris from whole towns.

The stories go on and on. This experience has been abundant with blessings. My kiddo said it best, "This is awesome, Mom!"

 
Though Hurricane Katrina has faded from the news, the work continues, and we're still energized.  What we're doing now is assisting families in their transition from the shelters and tent camps to their new homes.  Many of these folks are moving into completely bare apartments/mobile homes/modest houses.  Therefore, they dearly need our gifts and donations of household and personal items.
 
We have created a new blog for this project, Family to Family,  and hope you can take a moment and click on this link to see how you can aid our friends with their new lives.
 
So please, even if you're tired of donating money to charitable organizations, consider donating supplies that are still desperately needed. And will go directly to needy families.

Thanks Grace and Alex for forwarding these messages to me.

UPDATED: Plus Alyson forwarded me:

Relief Opportunity #3: Adopt a Katrina Evacuee Family
 
What if you evacuated for a couple of days and now your house is destroyed, flooded, or inaccessible?
What if you were rescued with only the clothing on your back?
What if you were a health worker who spend days helping sick patients in New Orleans and your house is now under 6 feet of water?
 
Help a displaced family, currently in the Baton Rouge, LA area, by providing immediate needs for clothing, household goods, and other necessities by mail.
 
 
How?
 
Email Katrina@ind-alchemy.com and you will be matched with a family. Groups can be matched too. You can provide new or gently used items and gift certificates. Need More Information?
 
Email Katrina@ind-alchemy.com or call 408-446-8448
  

Posted: Thu - October 13, 2005 at 05:24 PM       EmailFeedback

©