Helping People Affected by Hurricane Michael
Hurricane Michael hit Florida on Wednesday afternoon. It began as a Category 4 hurricane and was categorized as Category 3 by the time it reached Georgia, which is unprecedented in the area. Strong winds and rainfall are expected throughout North Carolina Thursday and Friday.
One thing you can do to help in the long run is vote against climate change deniers this November . But for immediate help, you can donate a few places that support people in the field.
GlobalGiving
GlobalGiving supports local and grassroots disaster relief efforts, and their Hurricane Michael Foundation can be found here . They have a current goal of $ 2 million, some of which will go to immediate needs, and they are also channeling money towards recovery.
Vision of the world
World Vision also works with local groups, although many of them appear to be churches in the area. This can be an effective strategy, as meetinghouses are often sheltered during storms. World Vision collects “food, clean water, personal care products, flood cleaning kits” and more for families. They are not based in Florida, but seem to be running programs around the world. You can donate here .
Florida Disaster Fund
Florida Volunteer encourages people to register as volunteers in Florida to support the victims of Hurricane Michael, and offers the Disaster Foundation as a place to donate . This foundation is the official private foundation in Florida to help people recover from natural disasters.
Team Rubicon
Team Rubicon is a group of military veterans who mobilize for rescue efforts in the event of natural disasters. They already have a number of members in North Carolina who are still helping with the recovery from Hurricane Florence. You can help them here .
Samaritan wallet
Recommended by Charity Navigator , this group is a network of non-denominational evangelical Christian churches that have a long history of responding to natural disasters. They have equipment deployed and ready to be shipped along the Gulf Coast and in Albany, Georgia, according to their website .
Direct relief
Direct Relief has also been recognized by the Charity Navigator for their commitment to financial transparency. They are also not firmly affiliated with any religion or political group and claim to provide assistance to all who need it, without “considering politics, religion, ethnicity or ability to pay.” They partially support nearly 200 medical facilities along Michael’s path and have provided ten of them with emergency medicine kits in anticipation of the storm. You can donate here .
Americares
Americares is a humanitarian health organization. They announced on Twitter that they had deployed an emergency response team to Florida. You can make a donation on their website .