How to Help in the Aftermath of Harvey

The images of distress and suffering from the aftermath of the flooding in Texas and Louisiana from Hurricane Harvey are gripping. As residents begin to rebuild their homes, businesses and lives, many people across the country have and will continue to donate items, money and time to help in the recovery.

While this catastrophe has brought out the best in most people who have risen to the challenge to show their charity and humanity, please keep in mind that there are those who seek to profit from this natural disaster by creating malicious websites disguised as donation pages. If and when you choose to donate, please donate only to trusted and reputable charity organizations so that all of your donation directly reaches flooding victims who have already lost so much. Do not donate over the phone to solicitors who have called you. For charitable organizations that you may not be familiar with or to verify how your donations will be used to support your cause, please consider using charity watchdog services, such as Charity Navigator and Charity Watch, before making any contribution.

Three great organizations that you can consider donating to are Americares, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Links are found below:

Lastly, if you would like to volunteer to help down in Texas, do not self-deploy. You can contact your town’s emergency services director to coordinate a plan of action with them.

If you are a doctor or a nurse, please coordinate with the State Department of Public Health concerning dispatching emergency medical services to the area.

Thank you.