BLEGGING FOR HELP: THE GULF COAST

Courtyard at the Soniat House, Vieux Carré, May 2003.

[This post will remain at the top of the Index Page all day today - scroll down for newer posts.]

If you read my post yesterday, you know what this is all about.

In case you didn’t (and even if you did), I’ll say it again. The victims of Hurricane Katrina’s wrath in the U.S. Gulf Coast need your prayers and your thoughts. But right now, what they need most is your financial support.

The situation in New Orleans continues to deteriorate even as the flood waters slowly recede. The city proper is likely to remain uninhabitable for months, which means that the population of an entire major U.S. city has been reduced to the status of refugees.

As if this were not bad enough, Hurricane Katrina devastated whole swaths of the Gulf Coast, from Louisiana to Pensacola, Florida. Gulfport, Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, and Pascagoula, Mississippi have all sustained horrendous damage from wind and storm surge. If there’s a silver lining at all, it’s that these places, at least, do not have to deal with the impact of flooding due to breached levees.

At the risk of being repetitious, I’ll say it again: You can help.

There are plenty of charities out there - legitimate charities - that will take your money and put it to good use helping those who need help the most. If you are reading this, you have a computer and an internet connection, so it’s an easy matter to make an online donation. But how you get it in is not important: what is important is that you get something in.

The Bloggy-Sphere has reached out, not just by donating money, but by providing links to charities, facilitating yet more donations. My recommendation is that you go to N.Z. Bear’s Katrina Charities site, where you can find a list of charity links. Hook up, make a donation, and (if you wish), log your contribution(s). And tell ’em Elisson sent ya.

As for me, I’m plugging the B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief Fund. It’s a worthy organization that extends its helping hand to all, regardless of faith or color; if you have other preferred charities, feel free to donate to them.

But donate.

Technorati tags: Flood aid, Hurricane Katrina, Charity