So, You Want to Help...
 
GIVE BLOOD § SEND MONEY
It is very important for people to get involved and help their fellow citizens in time of disaster. The generosity and kindness of people around the country does a lot to help communities heal from the tragic consequences of disasters. However, it is very important to coordinate the help first with experienced disaster relief organizations and/or the State and local emergency management offices so people in need of help receive it in the most timely and effective manner. How can you help? How can you get involved? Read on...
CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY
That's it. The Number One Way for you to be the best and fastest help to victims of disaster that you can possibly be is by providing a financial contribution to a voluntary agency or other non-profit organization involved in disaster relief.
According to Ben Curran, a Voluntary Agency Liaison (VAL) for FEMA, there are several advantages to cash donations. Cash can directly benefit survivors because it can meet specific needs, boost a local economy, and reach overseas locations quicker than sending unwanted donations.
The Washington Military Department, Emergency Management Division does NOT, as a rule, accept donations of either cash or materiel. We strongly recommend you consider a cash donation to one of the listed voluntary agencies or other non-profit organizations. You can view the Donated Goods and Services Management Plan (Appendix 1; ESF-7 Resource Support) to the Washington State Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP).
A financial contribution is often the most sensible and the most efficient way of helping the people in need after a disaster. There are several voluntary agencies with considerable disaster relief experience. These organizations have disaster skills in many areas such as disaster needs assessment, disaster clean-up, mass feeding, mass shelter, first aid, crisis counseling, pastoral care, child-care, home repair, family casework, meeting "unmet needs" and many other areas. When you support these organizations with financial contributions it helps ensure a steady flow of important services to the people in need after a disaster.
The Second Disaster
Unwanted donations are often the 'second disaster.' Oftentimes people send clothing or other items rather than cash because they are afraid the cash might not get to the right place, or get used up in administrative costs.
Educating the media about what's needed is vitally important. People who want to help need to find out what is actually needed and how to send it. The media can play a huge role in this process. The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross and other relief agencies usually will ask for specific needed items. If an item hasn't been requested, don't send it.
Unwanted donations usually become the victims’ problem. For example, after Hurricane Andrew, five (or more) acres of used donated clothing had to be buried or burned as there was simply no other way to dispose of the overload. Similarly, tons of donated house paints, thinner, and other hazardous materials has created a hazardous situation continuing to this day in litigation over its disposal.
In many third-world countries, unasked for donated goods can be a chaotic mixture of plenty and need, harming many local small businesses. The result, while there may be plenty of cases of bottled water, there is a very real shortage of building supplies, books for re-opening schools, and repellant for emerging mosquitoes.
People around the world respond more to disasters now thanks to graphic images from television, faster communications through satellite telephones, the Internet and email. In the U.S., we frequently get inquiries wanting to send foreign donations in response to disaster events occurring in the States.
Cash solves problems
Cash donations rather than unsolicited donated goods avoid the complicated, costly and time-consuming process of collecting, sorting, packing, transporting, unloading, resorting, storing, repackaging, and distributing the goods. Cash donations to voluntary agencies help meet peoples' needs more precisely as the voluntary agency is in a better position to purchase what the people need or can provide vouchers for people to purchase what they need. Cash donations to recognized relief organizations are also tax deductible.
Cash contributions to voluntary agencies also make sense for other reasons. The voluntary agency will often spend the money in the local disaster area thus helping the local economy get back on its feet.
TAXES AND DONATIONS
If you are concerned about the tax implications of donating, please see our Taxes and Donations page, and our Other IRS Publications on Disaster Relief and Donations page for more detailed and authoritative information.
DONATE THROUGH AN ORGANIZATION
It is never a good idea to collect goods for disaster relief without a firm plan in place that confirms the goods are needed and that addresses who will receive the goods, how they will be transported and how the goods will be distributed.
Organizations Involved
Please see our Make Your Donations To: page to see a list of the major disaster relief organizations involved in disaster preparedness, disaster prevention, disaster response, and disaster recovery in the United States and around the world.
To learn more about disaster relief organizations involved in foreign disasters also see http://www.interaction.org. Try to find out as much as you can about the work of the voluntary agency by asking questions of them and learning of their track record in disaster work.
Washington Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (WAVOAD) - Following a disaster, WAVOAD convenes its members and other agencies to discuss how they will work together cooperatively in the crisis. WAVOAD does not itself deliver services. Instead, its members independently meet relief and recovery needs within the cooperative framework the organization makes possible. WAVOAD coordinates planning by the many voluntary agencies responding to a disaster so they provide more effective service with less duplication when a disaster strikes.
CONFIRM THE NEED
Confirm the need before beginning a collection of donated goods. The most effective way the public can assist is to support the experienced disaster relief organizations with either financial contributions or in-kind goods and services that the organizations report are needed. Many of the experienced voluntary agencies involved in disaster relief have toll-free numbers for the public to call in order to learn what kind of donated goods might be needed in the disaster area. Often, when large-scale disasters occur in a State, that State's Office of Emergency Management, working closely with the voluntary agencies, will establish a toll-free Donations Coordination Hotline for the public to call in order to find out what donated goods and services are needed, if any.
It is often a mistake to assume what is needed in a disaster. Over the years, there has been considerable waste of countless tons of clothing because it was collected and sent with no prior coordination. Donors should be wary of anyone who claims that "everything is needed" in a disaster. Try to get more precise information before collecting any donated goods.
Check First
Experienced disaster relief organizations base their disaster relief activities on overall disaster situation assessments and detailed needs assessments. Many relief groups, if interested in the donated goods, have some infrastructure in place to store and distribute the goods. Coordination with relief groups is essential so that the right goods are collected, the right amount is collected, and that the logistics issues of transportation, warehouse and staging area coordination, and distribution are fully discussed. Donors find that it is often most practical to focus on one or two items that an organization says is needed rather than collect a variety of items and have boxes filled with mixed goods. Again, see our Make Your Donations To: page. There are many worthwhile organizations you can help.
Packaging and Labeling
Donated goods must be well packed and labeled. After confirming that the goods are needed and there is a plan to receive, store, and distribute them, be sure the goods are properly sorted, packaged and labeled. If unsure, discuss these steps with an experienced disaster relief organization. Specific content lists should be taped to the side of each box sent. This allows the receiving officials to determine what is in the box without opening it, and gets it to the proper distribution location in a timely manner. Put yourself in the shoes of the person on the receiving end of the shipment and think about making the unloading, unpacking, warehousing, and distribution as simple as possible.
Used Clothing
Used clothing is rarely a useful item to collect and send into the disaster area because it is hard to clean, sort, pack, transport, store, and distribute. Mounds of clothing take up valuable warehouse space and frequently end up being discarded. Constructive things to do with used clothing are to have a yard-sale to raise money for the disaster relief organizations that provide goods and services that the disaster survivors really need. Used clothing and other small items can also be donated locally to help community-based organizations in the local area
Transportation
Transportation must be planned in advance. It is frequently a major challenge for donors. It must be planned for - otherwise a donor can easily be stuck with large amounts of donated goods and no means to bring it to the recipient agency in the disaster area.
Do not assume unsolicited relief supplies will be transported at no charge or at government expense. The donor has the primary responsibility to find transportation for the donated goods. Local trucking firms may be willing to help in times of disaster, if funds are available to cover part of the expense. Often times donors raise money themselves to put towards the transportation of the donated supplies.
VOLUNTEER - GET TRAINED AND JOIN
In the immediate disaster response period there are often many people wanting to volunteer at the same time. Remember to be patient. It may not be perfectly clear until a few days after the incident how a volunteer can get involved. Many of the organizations listed on our Make Your Donations To: page recruit volunteers. Be sure to check it out. Volunteers should plan to be as self-sufficient as they can be so that they are of little, if any, burden on the disaster-affected community.
Affiliate and Join
People wanting to volunteer are encouraged to affiliate with a voluntary agency involved in disaster response and recovery. Volunteering through an organization provides a better chance of insurance and liability protection. Often the Volunteer Center in the area is an excellent source of information about volunteer opportunities after a disaster.
Get Trained
Before the next disaster strikes, get some disaster training. You will be in a better position to find meaningful volunteer work at the time of a disaster. Check with voluntary agencies you would like to work with to find out what skills they need and where to get training.
There are many tasks to do after a disaster - cleaning up and rebuilding are two of the biggest. There are often great needs for volunteer help when the community enters the long-term recovery period. Both voluntary agencies and the local government may be aware of opportunities for volunteer labor in the long and difficult recovery phase of a disaster. Watch the local media carefully to see what volunteer coordination efforts are being organized.
But Don't Take Our Word For It...
See What These Other Sites Have to Say About Donations:
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