Katrina Photos: Everyday People Helping Hurricane Katrina Victims
Following are the responses received to our Katrina Blog -- a request for photographs that depict "good news"... people helping people and having a POSITIVE impact on the lives of Hurricane Katrina's victims.
If you haven't sent in your photo yet, you've got until September 18th September 30th to submit a photo that shows you or your family doing something that's POSITIVE and DIRECTLY RELATED to the ongoing relief efforts.
Reminder: Every photo = another donation to the American Red Cross!
Here's where the idea came from.
To get us started, here's one I took today...
Bellevue Community Church is serving as a drop-off location for Hurricane Relief efforts. Here are some of the bottled water and canned food items donated this past Sunday.
And now yours...
A dad and his sons helped organize a car wash with proceeds going to a Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Fund in Franklin, Tennessee.
Small business owners, the Hatch Brothers collect cash donations for the American Red Cross in their downtown Nashville store.
This was the scene all over the Franklin/Cool Springs area on Saturday, September 10th... EVERYONE was having a yard sale with the proceeds going to the Hurricane victims.
More than a week after Hurricane Katrina struck, people in Tennessee were still purchasing canned food items, bottled water and paper products for those displaced by Katrina's aftermath.
Practically every day, a new Disaster Relief tent opens up around Franklin, Tennessee -- yet another location accepting food, water, paper products, and a few even accepting clothes, games & personal care items for those displaced and residing in Red Cross shelters in the Nashville area.
It's not much, but I counted up $15.50 in pennies that had been piling up in our "spare change jar". This will be added to our family's cash donation to the American Red Cross next week.
A handful of Red Cross shelters in Franklin, Tennessee are accepting clothing, games, toys, and other personal care items. I loaded up our Jeep with things like socks, jeans, shaving cream, purses, playing cards, books, and kids' toys.
Jeremiah & Tawana Rutledge write: This is a picture of our daughter Taylor Rutledge with the 60 backpacks she collected from her "Hugs For Hurricane Victims Drive" she held for 2 weeks in our neighborhood. She even emailed her flyer to some schools and asked them to participate. Byrns Darden Elementary and Kenwood Elementary emailed her back and agreed to help and they did. We delivered them to Grace Works ministries on yesterday (Sept. 17, 2005). She came up with this idea because she wanted to give the kids from the Hurricane a hug, so her clear backpacks were filled with toothpaste, tooth brushes, hand sanitizer, stuffed animals, candy, pencils, crayons, paper, socks, towels, washcloths, soap and some had clothes. The general idea was each backpack had some things the kids needed, something to write or draw on, a toy and candy to try to take their minds off of what was going on. We are very proud of her and we really appreciate the schools' and the community's help with her drive.
Scott Hunt (of The Southern Pride Band) writes: Jeff Bailey and I decided to write about Hurricane Katrina as a way to express our emotions of what we had been seeing on the news. I had been watching the approaching storm, landfall and the destruction that followed. Just seeing all of the people affected by the storm brought back the feelings of when my house was struck by a tornado in Alabama back in 1995. We were in the house when the twister picked it up and slammed it back to the ground. My family survived but it was several hours before our families could reach us and take us to safety. I remember the feeling of seeing my father walking down the road over the debris to check on us. After all of these years it is still hard to talk about it. We were out of our house for over two months. I know what these people are going through. The song is personal to me. My heart and prayers go out to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and now Rita.
(You can hear their song, "Eye Of The Hurricane" here.)
The Next Chapter...
We will continue to post other photos related to Hurricane Katrina, as we receive them, here...
Chisa Burwell writes: When it happened, I grieved as if it was happening to me first hand. I struggled to do all I can @ 24 years old. I was turned away from different people and different places in Philadelphia yet I REFUSED to take NO for an answer! I will continue to do help as much as possible. Even one year later, I still cry when I see something about it on the news. My expression in the picture is many different ones. The main one is HOW CAN SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN IN OUR OWN BACK YARD?
Kids Helping Kids 
Blogs Monitoring Progress After Katrina
- MetroBlogging -- a number of bloggers are providing regular "real-life" updates from the perspective of those who are living through the changes in New Orleans.
- 100 Days Of Blogging -- an archive of blog posts from reporters who went to places and conveyed stories that weren't otherwise being told.
- Nola U.S. -- regular updates on how things are progressing from New Orleans.
At Snopes various "facts" and "rumors" about Hurricane Katrina are either validated or debunked.
that is sad that had happened to New Orleans.
thanks
I don't know if this is the right way to do this but
I have been searhing for my brother Calvin Eugene Clement Jr.
The last time I spook to him was when he was helping with cleanup of Hurricane Katrina
If anyone can help me plz I don't know what else to do
I would really appriciate any help at all
Thanks
In the July 3 issue of Newsweek, they listed the Top 10 charities that have raised the most money to assist the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
From the article:
The Big Names in Katrina Relief
(Americans saw New Orleans on TV and opened their wallets.)
1. American Red Cross $2.1 billion
2. Salvation Army $362 billion
3. Catholic Charities USA $145.6 million
4. Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund $130 million
5. Habitat for Humanity $124.4 million
6. United Methodist Committee on Relief $64.5 million
7. United Way of America $46.9 million
8. Baton Rouge Area Foundation $41.5 million
9. Samaritan's Purse $35.2 million
10. America's Second Harvest $33.8 million
I don't live near the coast, so hurricanes don't affect us, but I felt a need to go help others down there. I spent a week with Son Servants and helped tear down a few houses. It was an amazing experience. It is really inspiring to see what people can do...we were a group of middle and high school teens, making a difference. I'll never forget it.
Hello, I`m a little sister of a older brother who is singing on a tour for the katrina victims. Its called the Let The Healing Begin Tour and it hosts in New York City there are musical performances and its all goes to the katrina victims so any one in new york or will be help out because theres still help needed!!They will also go nation wide perfoming for the Katrina victims showing them that there is hope and everything will be alright. I will be there hopefully you will too.If you want any more information about the address jus email me at ivobk@aol.com
it is good what you are doing to change people's lives
I survived Katrina but Iam looking for a bigger place to live in louisiana please help me i have 2 kids 1 on the way we live in a 1 bedroom apartment .
Hello -
I ran across your website thru google searching for Katrina info related to Nashville. Hoping you could help please to spread the word. If you know of anyone, or know a good source to contact who might know someone, please let us know. We are putting together a choir of 30 to 50 singers for a special performance on April 10th at the CMT Awards Show. We will practice April 8. We need singers, musicians, Louisiana and Mississippi residents that have relocated to the Nashville area because of Hurricane Katrina to participate. Please contact us ASAP.
Thank you,
Damien Horne
aka Mista D of MuzikMafia
MistaDBand@yahoo.com
We too survived the storm in Slidell, LA but our home and auto didn't. The best place to go for help is God. He has provided for us in ways you could never imagine. When our FEMA inspector's contract was up he went home to Illinois only to come back down here to help my husband try to restore some of our home. Praise the Lord
Good news for animal lovers who have been wondering what happened to all those pets left behind during Hurricane Katrina...
Discovery Channel's Animal Planet is airing a special called Hurricane Rescues on Sat. Nov 26th (7 p.m. ET) and Sun. Nov 27th (2 a.m. ET).
Cindy -
I'm not sure if this will help, but try these links for Coats being donated in your area:
...you might find a helpful phone number in there.
i too survived katrina, and live in slidell louisiana. the organization here that is caring for the animals is noahs wish www.noahswish.com, they are great people. it is very cold down here today and i have loaned out every coat i can to those that have none. there was supposed to be an organization collecting coats for us, but i cant find out who they are. if anyone knows please email me and let me know where to get coats for these people. thanks cindy dougmach@charter.net and thanks so much for ya'lls help, God Bless Ya
I am an Artist and Recreation leader from Canada who designed a T-shirt and had 1000 printed I hope to sell them all. Proceeds of the HANDS OF HELP T-SHIRTS will go directly towards assisting:
ACORN the Association of Community Organization based in New Orleans L.A www.acorn.org
And the Canadian Animal Assistance Team who is providing direct medical assistance to animals injured by Hurricane Katrina. www.caat-katrina.org
Charity it’s as simple as A B C
You decide where you would like the donations to go.
A-Supports ACORN Association of Community Organizations www.acorn.org
B-Supports Both
C-Supports CAAT Canadian Animal Assistance Team www.caat-katrina.org
Available now at:
BURNABY FIRE HALL #2
7578 Edmonds Street Burnaby B.C.
9am-3pm 604-521-1441
WOOFLES & MEOWZ
1496 Cartwright Street Granville Island 689-3674
www.woofles.com
for group orders or for further information please contact Diane at moraninthemoon@shaw.ca
I too survived Katrina. I live an hour and a half in land from Biloxi. I truly feel for people closer to the water than I am. Even this far in, we had sustained winds of 125mph. and gusting higher. Our schools were out for 2 weeks, because of power outages, as well as structural damages. We were without water for a week and power for two weeks. We had very few radio stations on the air, and no TV for days. We were not aware of how bad things were farther south than us. Living this far away from the ocean, I never thought that my family would live through anything like this. For the most of us this has been a very humbling experience. I have always been an independent person. My independence was broken in this storm. I truly appreciate everything that everyone has done and donated. Now my family is back up and on our feet, we are trying to help too.
I have made two trips to Biloxi to help out at distribution centers. The clothes that have been donated are being ruined. They are just laying on the grounds in parking lots for who ever needs them. Alot of clothing is being thrown out because thereis no one to sort them by sizes, seasons, or sexes.Winter coats are needed, personal care items, cleaning items, and most of all i think canned foods.
Thanks for your time, Lisa
My name is charmainee miller and im a hurricane survivor.I can truely say "I survived."It was 2:30 am when Katrina paid New Orleans an unforgettable visit.I was in my apartment because i decided to ride it out,that was the worst thing i ever did in my entire life.The winds toreoff my roof leaving me in a house with only the four walls standing the storm was literally in my studio apatment i watched the winds pick up my television and tossed it in the kitchen. Hours felt like Days.Im blessed.Then i was relocated to the SuperDome.
Thanks, Sheila!
It's nice to know there are people like you who are so willing to go above & beyond to help out.
Others who want to help animals affected by Hurricane Katrina might consider contacting The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
I've sent money to the redcross to help people stranded. I would like to help take in pets that people cant's take to shelter. I have a fenced in yard plus a 300 acre farm. I would be more than willing to take care of any pets for people until their owners can get back on their feet. I love animals and would do anything for them.
I have dogs of my own that i treat better than if I had my owen child. I'm 40 yr's old. I'm a regersterd RN and I love animals. Please, if there's anything I can do, please let me know. I'm sick to my stomach not being able to be down in the gulf coast helping one another. I WANT TO HELP!
Sheila DePue