The hurricane may have slipped to the back of your mind by now, but as school and life continues to consume our time it is easy to forget about those outside of Charlottesville still suffering. However, all of us have the opportunity to help those affected by Hurricane Florence. It can be difficult to know which foundations and charities are actually helping the disaster relief effort and which are profiting off of the insecurities of others. It is common for fraud organizations to pop up after natural disasters looking for opportunities to take advantage of people trying to make a positive impact. If you are interested in helping with the relief effort, read on for some legitimate ways to help those in need.
1. St. Bernard Project (SBP)
SBP was founded in response to Hurricane Katrina. SBP’s mission is to decrease the time between the disaster and when the recovery efforts begin. Using the donations they receive, SBP plans to help rebuild homes in the Carolina communities and help educate victims on rebuilding efforts. Their website even details what can be done with each donation size so that patrons can know how their money is being used. Get involved here: http://sbpusa.org/get-involved/donate
2. Animal Shelters
While Charlottesville students may not be able to personally adopt the displaced animals affected by Hurricane Florence, social media can help. Sharing and spreading the word about different animal shelters can help animals in the Carolina’s be adopted. Forgotten pets and other animals are often an afterthought during natural disasters and many do not get a happy ending. Hopefully, we can help to change this. Get involved here: https://www.greenvillehumane.com/ or at our local Cville SPCA: http://caspca.org/
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3. Through Alexa
For the first time, tech companies are getting involved in natural disaster relief. If you have an Alexa you can now say “Alexa, make a donation to Hurricane Florence” and it will go directly to the Red Cross. So if you or somebody you know owns an Alexa, donating just got easier than ever!
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4. The American Red Cross
Donating blood is another great way to get involved in relief efforts. Due to the hurricane, the Red Cross had to cancel dozens of blood drives in the region. Now, the organization is short on blood within NC and is asking for individuals who haven’t donated blood to donate as they are involved in diverting resources to this area of need. Even better, there is a blood drive happening on grounds this week, so stop by to make a difference. Stop by Clark Hall at any point this week to save a life and make a difference!
Image credit: http://wina-am.sagacom.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/46/files/2015/11/va-blood-services-620×400.jpg
We at HerCampus UVA encourage you to try to help those affected by Hurricane Florence. There are dozens of other ways to help and these are just a few. Just make sure that before donating make sure to check that the organization is reputable and is actually contributing to aid efforts in the region.