How YOU can help the victims of Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Texas Coast, and has left Houston — the nation’s fourth-largest city — grappling with unprecedented flooding.  Help is needed to support the victims of Hurricane Harvey. If you’re looking for a way to contribute financially, the organizations listed below are providing urgent relief and support:

The American Red Cross. They are providing round-the-clock shelter and comfort for those affected. You can give online, call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word “HARVEY” to 90999 to make a quick $10 donation.

Salvation Army. Make a financial donation online, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY, or text “STORM” to 51555.

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. They’re providing care and hot meals for thousands of displaced Texans, and have been tasked with restoring survivors’ homes. They’ll be on the ground now and for months to come. Learn more about how to support their efforts here.

Save the Children. They’re on the ground providing assistance to families in evacuation shelters, delivering family-friendly relief supplies, setting up child-friendly spaces, and planning for long-term recovery. You can support their relief efforts online here.

Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has established this fund to accept tax deductible donations. It is administered by the Greater Houston Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Make a financial donation on the GHCF website.

United Way of Greater Houston. They have established a Flood Relief Fund to help with recovery needs of those most impacted. Give to the fund online  or text “UWFLOOD” to 41444.

The Houston Food Bank. They’re providing food to families most in need. Donate online or learn how to volunteer at houstonfoodbank.org.

Fleet Feet Sports. They’re  Fleet Feet Sports stores all over the country are collecting new or gently-used shoes and new pairs of socks to donate to victims of the storm.

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If you want to help victims of Hurricane Harvey …

Help with rescue efforts

• If you have a boat or a safe high-water vehicle, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office wants your help; the office put out a call on Twitter for residents to help with rescues. Call 713-881-3100 to help.
• The City of Port Arthur tweeted Wednesday morning that individuals with boats are needed to help with rescues.
• See a flooded street? Tell the Houston Chronicle.
• If you’re stranded and in need of assistance: One Texan created www.hurricaneharveyrescue.org, a website where those who require rescues can post their locations, and where those capable of conducting safe rescues can see a list of locations where they are needed.
• Portlight Strategies is working to help to help older adults and those with disabilities. Donate here.
• The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Texas is helping displaced animals. You can donate at www.spca.org/give or sign up to adopt a displaced animal at www.spca.org/foster. Austin Pets Alive, which transferred more than 200 pets to its shelter as of Saturday morning, is also seeking help, as are the Animal Defense League of Texas and the Houston Humane Society. If you see a stranded marine animal, call the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Regional Office at 1-877-942-5343.

Provide shelter and supplies

• Food banks are asking for nonperishable staples like canned meat and dry goods, as well as cleaning supplies; the Houston Food Bank, Southeast Texas Food Bankin Beaumont, Central Texas Food Bank, Galveston County Food Bank, Food Bank of the Golden Crescent and Corpus Christi Food Bank all accept online donations. See the Houston Press’s list of names and contact information for more food banks here.
• The Houston Food Bank announced Wednesday that is was open and ready to start distributing supplies to those affected by the flood. The food bank also emphasized the need for volunteers, who would be used to inspect and sort food and repack dry food, among other things.
• Donate food or cash to food banks in your area. Or you can donate to Feeding Texas, a network of food banks across the state. Find your local food bank here.
• You can also open your home to disaster victims through Airbnb, or by posting on this Facebook group.
• If you’re in San Antonio, you can sign up to host Harvey victims through the Jewish Federation.
• Make a cash or diaper donation to the Texas Diaper Bank, which is providing emergency diaper kits to displaced families. The Austin Diaper Bank is also accepting cash or diaper donations to distribute to Harvey victims.
• The Austin Disaster Relief Fund is calling for 6,000 welcome kits.
• Donate cash or supplies for children with complex medical needs to Little Lobbyists.
• In East Texas, Athens First Presbyterian Church is accepting donations — including bottled water, nonperishable food, tarps, trash bags and clean up supplies — for hurricane relief efforts. The church is also looking for volunteers to help accept donations.

Make a donation

• Several local and national organizations are collecting donations for general disaster relief efforts, including the United Way, Americares, Salvation Army, Save the Children, Global Giving, Direct Relief, Heart to Heart and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.  Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has set up a flood relief fund, backing the effort with his own $100,000 donation.
• Gofundme has curated a list of Harvey relief efforts, with fundraisers for individual cities, families and homes.
• Individuals and corporations can donate to hurricane relief efforts through the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
• The State of Texas Agriculture Relief fund (STAR fund) is collecting private dollars to help Texas farmers and ranchers recover from Hurricane Harvey.
• You can support Houston’s undocumented communities affected by the floods by making a donation here.
• Help teachers in affected school districts rebuild their classrooms. Teachers of Tomorrow, a Texas education organization, started a relief fund for educators affected by Harvey.
• Help LGBTQ flood victims through the Montrose Center.
• Donate to the Texas Workers Relief Fund to aid working families in crisis.
• You can help Hurricane Harvey victims by texting HARVEY to 90999 to give $10 to the Red Cross (or by visiting RedCross.org to give any other amount).
• The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, established by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, is accepting donations for flood victims.

Give blood

Several hospitals are reporting blood shortages and seeking donations in the wake of the storm. O negative and O positive donations are particularly helpful, but people of all blood types are encouraged to donate. If you donate on Friday in Austin, you can get there for free using Fasten, a ride-hailing start-up company.

• Carter BloodCare is sending donations to Southeast Texas; see where you can donate here. You can also give blood through the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center; find out more on their website or by calling 210-731-5590. You can also give blood through the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center or We Are Blood.
• Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi — which never lost power — is accepting blood donations as well as financial support.
• Living outside of Texas? You can still donate blood through the Red Cross.

Volunteer your time

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Experts expect it’ll take some time before the floodwaters drain in Houston. In the meantime, several groups are seeking volunteers to help with recovery efforts.

• Volunteers can sign up for trips to the affected area through organizations like Samaritan’s Purse, GivePulse, Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group, Team Rubicon and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
• Volunteer Houston has launched a virtual Volunteer Reception Center to aid nonprofit agencies in flood relief efforts. More information here.
• If you’re in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you can register to help at shelters through the Mass Care Task Force.
• Sign up here to volunteer with the Austin Disaster Relief Network.
• If you’re a chef, sign up to cook for victims in Houston.
• If you are a health or mental health professional, sign up with the Red Crossto deploy to affected areas.
• Remote Area Medical is seeking medical personnel, as well as general support and supplies, to help with rescue efforts. Contact RAM at [email protected] or 865-579-1530.
• The Red Cross is seeking musicians to play at Austin-area evacuation shelters.
• The State Bar of Texas has a legal hotline to help people — specifically low-income Texans — with issues such as replacing lost documents and answering insurance questions. They also started a disaster relief volunteer form, which attorneys licensed in Texas can fill out here.

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