Quote:
Originally Posted by brazenarticle
If you have a suggestion for an A-, A or A+ rated national or international disaster relief organization please share.
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I still have not decided is the short, quick answer but I will say who I am considering after I explain why.
I have gone to help out after Hurricane Floyd flooded a good portion of eastern NC as well as a "small" tornado that killed two people and destroyed three/four homes and damaged a few others. One of the people killed was related to a coworker.
For Floyd, I and my group were out looking for dead bodies and looters as the water cresting in some areas and down to ok levels in others. Thankfully, we did not find bodies or looters though there was
radio traffic concerning both. In some places, we were the first people to get into the areas.
As mentioned previously, in one small town the Red Cross was there passing out pasta from a truck. It certainly was appreciated by the few survivors that were there. There was a National Guard mess unit on the scene providing food but they and the Red Cross were gone a week or two later when I went back to help clean up.
However, already in the town, was a group of Mennonites setting up a warehouse of food and clothes. I can't remember if the Baptists were there yet but when I returned a week or so later, the Baptists were there in force and the Mennonites were still there working. I have NO idea where the heck those Mennonites came from but I did learn later there are some communities in the NC moutains.
Many of the houses that are flooded are not total losses. EVERYTHING in the house that was touched by water has to be thrown out, the walls and floors stripped down to the studs and joists,
electrical systems taken out, let the place dry out and then rebuilt.
One of the hardest things to do is simply getting the contents of the house OUT. Our tax dollars will pay to clean up the contents and debris BUT IT HAS TO GET TO THE CURB. Some houses can be hundreds of feet to the curb but getting a fridge filled with rotting food, and heavy with water soaked
insulation, is DISGUSTING
work.
This work is hard to do if it is YOUR stuff, especially, if you are up in age and that stuff represents a lifetime of work, effort and living. Some people simply cannot physically move this stuff. They need help.
This is what volunteers like myself and other did. The Baptists and Mennonites where down there for the long haul. The Baptists had a tractor
trailer out fitted with a kitchen, showers, and toilets. They would take the tractor
trailer into a disaster area, park next to a church they could use as a place to rest and send out work teams. Both groups were sending people out to clean out the houses, then another team would go in and rip the floors and walls down to the studs and joists to air out and eventually
rebuild.
ALL OF THIS WAS DONE BY VOLUNTEERS none of whom where being paid. I did see some homeowner paying to have this done but it was too soon for
insurance payouts so they were using their own resources.
The tornado cleanup I work in was similar except the work was being done by local volunteers who knew the victims/survivors. However, a local church was preparing to receive a bus load or two of volunteers from VA to help with the clean up.
Based on what I have seen and done, I am looking at faith based organizations to donate my money too. I have seen them work and do much with nothing. Looking at the websites that rate charities they seem to do a far better job and spend the money more wisely. I see no justification for any charity paying manager salaries around and over $500,000. I, and many others I know, have spent decades volunteering to help people, earning no money, and certainly costing us out of pocket, to have any respect for someone in a charity making that kind of salary.
It is a shame that one has to worry if your charity money will be spent correctly/wisely.... <sigh>
I am looking at the Salvation Army, United Methodist Committee on Relief, and Baptists on Mission. The later group might have been the people who had the tractor trailer. They have a website but I can't find them on the charity review/rating sites. Can't find anything about the Mennonites I saw working.
Later,
Dan