Please permit me to go just a bit off-topic today, taking a look at how to make meaningful donations after your area goes through a natural disaster.
Hurricanes, flooding, forest fires, tropical storms, and tornadoes occur during the summer and autumn seasons. Indeed, each event is tragic. Of course, you want to do your part to help others. But perhaps you have some hesitancy to do so.
Understandable.
For many kind-hearted people, it boils down to one thing–not knowing how to help. Or not knowing what to donate. You might wonder what items are essential, especially in the first days following such a tragic event.
And if you donated in the past, you know that just after these types of emergencies, many agencies start to text, call, and email you for donations. What to do, what to do?
An Eye-opening Experience, and the Value of Making Meaningful Donations
Last summer, a tornado tore through my area, displacing over twenty families in a matter of minutes. Worse was the loss of life, including one lady who graduated with my husband. This event hit so close to our house. The tornado warning only went off once it touched down, giving people zero notice to take cover–in the middle of the night.
I was always under the assumption that people need food–and I always donate to canned food drives whenever the need arises. However, the first agencies on the ground after the tornado clearly explained that food was not the most pressing request. That’s because many of these neighbors were being rehoused by FEMA in either motel rooms in a nearby county or FEMA campers and trailers–with very little room for storing pantry items.
Getting so close to the situation, I realized how many people lost everything but the clothes on their backs. And the same goes for people who evacuate on short notice when they are in the line of a wildfire, hurricane, or similar emergency.
What Are the Most Meaningful Donations You Can Make?
This infographic explains the items that make the most meaningful donations you can offer in such a time of great need.
And here is a quick video explaining the reasons why these are such essential items to consider donating to those in need:
