Blog for Katrina Relief
Today the blogosphere is mobilizing to encourage aid to help those devastated by hurricane Katrina. I choose Catholic Charities and their online form allows you to specifically designate funds for Hurricane Katrina. I was able to donate within minutes of going to their site. So if you can please donate to Catholic Charities or any of the other worth charities helping out.
As Col. Austen Bay said on the Hugh Hewitt show.
"There's no America out there except America to respond to it. We've got to do it ourselves."
If you choose to donate you can log your contribution here (As 'anonymous' is fine).
Besides direct contribution I would also encourage you to pray. Prayers are obviously needed for the victims of the hurricane and their families. For those whose lives have been totally uprooted and to especially pray for those first responders who are acting to save lives in what are very tough conditions. Even looking at the picture on tv it is hard to realize the devastation, even harder to put yourself in the place of those effected by the hurricane. My father lives in the area by Gulfport, Mississippi and luckily he evacuated to Birmingham, Al before Katrina hit.
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday he was praying for victims of Hurricane Katrina and urged rescue workers to persevere in bringing comfort to survivors.
In a telegram of condolences, Benedict said he was "deeply saddened" to learn of the catastrophe caused by the storm, which slammed into the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Monday.
The telegram, sent by the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, said Benedict was praying for the victims and offered consolation to their families.
"His Holiness likewise prays for the rescue workers and all involved in providing assistance to the victims of this disaster, encouraging them to persevere in their efforts to bring relief and support," the telegram said. [Source]
Hurricane Katrina: Catholic Charities Respond
As Hurricane Katrina continues to make her trek northward, Catholic Charities agencies from around the region, such as agencies in Florida and Baton Rouge, are poised to send technical assistance teams to help the local Catholic Charities in the impacted areas with their response efforts. Once the all clear is given that it is safe to return to those communities hit by the devastating hurricane, the damage and needs assessment will begin.
While local agencies along the Gulf Coast anticipate that they will be provide some type of emergency assistance in their communities, Catholic Charities' niche in disaster relief is to provide long-term recovery work. In fact, Catholic Charities agencies in Florida are still providing services to help people recover from last year's devastating Based on past disasters, possible long-term services that Catholic Charities may provide include temporary and permanent housing, direct assistance beyond food and water to get people back into their homes, job placement counseling, and medical and prescription drug assistance.
Recovery work is underway in Dade County, FL, where Katrina caused extensive flooding when it stuck there last week. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami has already distributed a large load of baby items, food, and other supplies to victims. Other aid that they will be providing includes assistance with food, shelter, rent, medicine, utilities, and mental health counseling.
To help communities recover from the damage brought on by Hurricane Katrina, Catholic Charities USA is collecting financial donations that will fund agencies' emergency and long-term disaster recovery efforts.
Catholic Charities USA is unable to accept contributions of food, clothing, blankets and other relief supplies. Its federal ID number is 53-0196620.
About the Disaster Response Office
Catholic Charities USA, which has been commissioned by the U.S. Catholic Bishops to represent the Catholic community in times of domestic disaster, responds with emergency and long-term assistance as needed. Its Disaster Response Office connects the Church's social service agencies and disaster planning offices across the nation.
Katrina's wake : A statue of the Virgin Mary sits on the porch of home destroyed
by hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. (AFP/Robert Sullivan)
Via Catholic Light
Known as 
Thank you for suggesting Catholic Charities. As we in Miami know from Hurricane Andrew, the toll on the survivors is not a short-term problem. We saw all kinds of troubles for a long time afterwards, including medical and mental-health related issues, a rise in suicides and domestic violence, unemployment, and children who were deeply traumatized, to name only a few issues. This suffering endures long after the news cameras are turned elsewhere, but it is so important to not forget these people and to help all we can. Thank you Jeff!
Woo Hoo
Way to go Jeff, one for our side!
Father Almighty, help all who are suffering in the wake of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.
My family is making a contribution to the relief efforts through our church this Sunday.
Thanks for the info, Jeff. It spurred me to make my donation right away instead of continuing to "plan to do so."
May God be with all those suffering during this tragic time.
Thanks for the spur...and the picture kind of says it all, doesn't it?
I would also suggest praying the Rosary for these people. EWTN had a special Rosary for the victims of the hurricane last night.
That picture is just amazing. Thank you for sharing it.
Kudos on your efforts to bring relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. There is another way bloggers and other thoughtful people can help:
I have opened forums at www.DisasterReliefIdeas.org for the discussion of ideas to aid disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I am not soliciting donations, only ideas. Experts in aspects of disaster relief (housing, healthcare, rebuilding, etc.) are also able to rate these ideas, giving us a means of identifying the most promising ones, which will be shared with disaster relief professionals and persons in authority. Please help our society by contributing your ideas, especially if you are unable to contribute financially to relief efforts.
Thank God that Catholic Charities is there to deliver help for long term solutions. I work right next door to the Astrodome and I'm seeing first had the walking wounded who are coming in. It is clear to everyone that we need to get these folks out of that facility, into jobs and back to some semblance of normalcy once their immediate needs are addressed.
You are welcome to come visit my blog which is related to Hurricane Katrina and comment on that. http://whatsnewtoday11.blogspot.com
http://www.CrisisSearch.com has a search engine with thousands of disaster related websites and even a brand new message forum (web blog). Please add helpful websites to the crisis database.