A Holy Fool's Commitment to Katrina survivors

(A Holy Fool Notes: It's not you. This post led the Blog yesterday. It will lead today as well, and probably tomorrow. New posts for the day appear below. Please scroll down.)

We have the voice that the survivors of Katrina lost.

We, unaffected by hurricane and levee breach, wonder what we can do.

Well, we may wonder no more!

Many worthwhile charities await our help so they can help the survivors of what may become The US' worst natural disaster. While prudently choosing charities instead of scams, we nevertheless offer what we can to those that offer hope.

I've chosen to support Catholic Charities. In the face of such tragedy as the drowning of New Orleans, I find the witness of Christ's compassion through the mercy of his Mystical Body is essential. Catholic Charities offers a unique witness:

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.

Given the historical importance of the Roman Catholic Church to the history and culture of New Orleans, I find Catholic Charities' engagement particularly important. If we don't help family, who do we help? In addition, they do the following:

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.

How To Donate:

Contribute Now Online Mail Checks To: Catholic Charities USA 2005 Hurricane Relief Fund PO Box 25168 Alexandria, VA 22313-9788 Call: (800) 919-9338

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 hurricanes.

Agencies Impacted

Catholic Charities of Miami Catholic Charities of New Orleans Catholic Community Services of Baton Rouge Catholic Social Services of Houma-Thibodaux Catholic Social and Community Services of Biloxi, MS Catholic Charities of Jackson, MS Catholic Social Services of Mobile, AL

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.

Please consider supporting Catholic Charities. To facilitate this, I will donate any donation that I receive today either through PayPal or Amazon Honor System to Catholic Charities. If you would like to donate to them through me, I would be honored, and rest assured, every penny will head their way--minus what Paypal and Amazon charge in commission. And I'll even work on that!

If you don't want to donate to Catholic Charities, there are plenty of charities being supported by other Bloggers. Get more information here and here. TTLB has a Katrina Relief Contribution page here, as well. I plan to keep this post at the head of Holy Fool for the day. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me or leave a comment.

Let's get moving! A lot of people need our help. Today, we can make a difference to them. Let's do it!

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