A regular citizen trying to help those in need
I’m going to *try* and rent several haul’s this weekend, fill with supplies and deliver them as close as possible to ground Zero New Orleans.
If I could have, I would be already down there, except that I don’t have the financial resources to get that much time off of work. Fortunately it’s a 3 day weekend.
I know that FEMA and the Red Cross are great organizations, but I feel WE the citizens must help our fellow citizens. I don’t want to donate money, as it often gets tied up in bureaucratic paperwork. I see people stranded on bridges with nowhere to go, and children and elderly without food or water.
This is my personal way to help with hurricane Katrina disaster relief.
I have already petitioned several local grocery store chains and a state bottling company (water) for donations of:
- Bottled Water
- Diapers
- Ready-to-drink baby formula
- Non-Perishable food items (trail mix etc)
I think some other great donations would include: Flashlights, and small gas cans with gas for chainsaws etc!
None of this is a go at this time. I don’t have the money it takes.
I have looked at maps online and found out this it takes about 20 hours to get to New Orleans. I doubt I could get that far anyhow with all the destruction. The idea – get as close to the people as I can. If I get stopped by Red Cross or some other organization, then that’s as far as I can get, and will have to drop the supplies there.
I don’t quite understand why some items haven’t already been airdropped. And frankly, it gets be quite upset, but that’s a different issue
Know any distribution contacts for groceries/bottlers personally?
Just want to donate to the cause?
Can you help with the uHaul rental, gas to put in it, or the milage costs?
Know anyone else who may be interested in donating/driving/loading/unloading?
Interested in joining me?
If any donations are made, and this trip does not work out, all donated monies/supplies will get personally delivered to the Red Cross by me personally.
I’m not quite sure about the rules for handling donations etc, but at this point I really don’t care about rules, there are people desperately in need!
Think I’m crazy? Comments?
I think this is a great idea! My understanding is the Red Cross and CRS(Catholice Relief Services) have a good distribution network and are among the lowest cost providers. Pooling resources might also work well through local television and radio stations. They seem to be able to muster resources, connections and effective volunteer efforts.