Helping Hurricane Dorian Relief Efforts
Over the weekend, Hurricane Dorian caused severe damage to the Bahamas, damaging 13,000 homes and killing at least five people. As of Tuesday morning, the Dorian, recently awarded Category 2, is slowly making its way towards the Florida coast; from there, it is expected to creep up the coast and along with Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina later this week.
“We are at the epicenter of a historic tragedy in parts of the northern Bahamas,” Prime Minister Hubert A. Minnis said at a news conference on Monday. “Our mission and focus now is search, rescue and recovery.”
If you would like to help the communities affected by Hurricane Dorian, below you will find several organizations that will accept donations to help.
- World Central Cuisine , an organization of chef José Andrés, provides food for people affected by natural disasters. The organization announced over the weekend that they are preparing food for serving in the Bahamas (and preparing kitchens in both Florida and the Carolina). To donate, visit the World Central Kitchen website and stay tuned to their Twitter page .
- International aid groups provide medical support to those affected by poverty or natural disasters. They are accepting donations to prepare 1,000 disaster relief kits to be distributed in Florida. If you would like to donate, visit the group’s website .
- Save the Children helps rebuild education and day-care programs after natural disasters; they are currently deploying an emergency response team to help the victims of Dorian. Visit the organization’s website to donate. (10% of donations for specific purposes such as helping Dorian go to their general fund for helping children).
- The American Red Cross also accepts donations for aid, food and shelter during Dorian’s time. However, as we wrote earlier , use common sense; just because they are the most famous organization does not necessarily mean that they will spend your money the way you hoped (the organization faced accusations of mismanagement and inability to receive most of the donated funds to local organizations in need). ). ProPublica has a helpful guide to choosing the most effective donation organizations in the aftermath of a disaster.
To find other ways to help, or to make sure your donation goes to a trusted organization, visit the Charity Navigator website ; they have brought together several highly regarded organizations that are currently supporting the relief effort. And to keep abreast of Dorian’s developments, the Washington Post has a storm satellite live stream onYouTube, and CNN provides live updates on its website .