Friday, October 21, 2005

Stennis Sailors Continue Katrina Relief Efforts in Mississippi

Stennis Sailors Continue Katrina Relief Efforts in Mississippi: "Stennis Sailors Continue Katrina Relief Efforts in Mississippi
Navy News | Gabriel Owens | October 20, 2005
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - Sailors from USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) passed out food, clothing and other much-needed supplies to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in Bay St. Louis, Miss., Oct. 18."

TownOnline.com - Scituate Mariner - Local News-Smith honored for hurricane relief efforts

TownOnline.com - Scituate Mariner - Local News: "Smith honored for hurricane relief efforts
By Jillian Fennimore/ jfennimo@cnc.com
Thursday, October 20, 2005

With only three hours notice, Middlesex Deputy Sheriff John Smith said he and about 20 members of the office's Special Operations Unit drove to Louisiana aboard a mobile command center to assist in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
The 26-year-old Scituate resident said his unit spent a month in the devastated state where he witnessed the awful destruction the hurricane wrought on the region.
'We went there expecting the worst,' said Smith, who has been recently promoted to Captain after a 5-1/2-year stint as deputy sheriff with the department. "

Mercy Corps > Topics > Emergencies > Record Disasters, Rapid Response

Mercy Corps > Topics > Emergencies > Record Disasters, Rapid Response: "Record Disasters, Rapid Response
By ZACH DUNDAS | October 20, 2005
Nancy Lindborg, president of Mercy Corps, takes a deep breath when she thinks about 2005. So far, to understate things just a little, it's been a highly unusual year.


Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps
'You never want to say never,' Lindborg says. 'But it does seem like we're hitting on all cylinders right now in a way we rarely have. The tsunami set the stage for some all-hands-on-deck responses, and there's really been no letup since.'"

Public and Private Responses to Katrina: What Can We Learn?: Newsroom: The Independent Institute

Public and Private Responses to Katrina: What Can We Learn?: Newsroom: The Independent Institute: "Public and Private Responses to Katrina: What Can We Learn?
October 20, 2005
Mary L. G. Theroux

This talk was presented at the Chief Executive Organizations’ Women’s Seminar October 7, 2005.

For the lessons to be gleaned in the aftermath of Katrina, I look to two non-profits with which I have been involved for many years and that I see as providing a two-pronged strategy for solving problems—immediate-term and long-term.

I’ve served for 10 years on the San Francisco board, and three years on the National board of The Salvation Army, which Peter Drucker has termed “the most effective organization in the U.S.” It does an amazing job at addressing and alleviating immediate problems and suffering. It brings people in off the street to become clean and sober and learn to lead productive lives through its detox and transitional housing and programming. It provides job training, character-based after-school and summer camp programming for children, toys at the holidays; shelters for battered women and their children; senior feeding and housing; delivery of hot meals to the homebound, housing and programming for aged-out foster care young adults; and is one of the largest relief agencies worldwide. Based in London, it operates in 109 countries every day, with 65,000 employees in the U.S. alone. So when disaster strikes, the Salvation Army is already there, ready to spring into action."

The Chronicle, 10/20/2005: Earthquake Taxes Capacity of Donors and Charities to Provide Relief Aid

The Chronicle, 10/20/2005: Earthquake Taxes Capacity of Donors and Charities to Provide Relief Aid: "Earthquake Taxes Capacity of Donors and Charities to Provide Relief Aid

By Nicole Wallace and Ian Wilhelm

The catastrophic earthquake that devastated parts of Pakistan and India this month has strained the ability of many international relief organizations to raise funds from American donors, many of whom feel overwhelmed by appeals for what has been an unusually high number of major disasters this year.

So far donations to about a dozen major relief groups for the 7.6-magnitude temblor -- which may have killed as many as 40,000 people and left more than a million people homeless -- have totaled $13.1-million. If donations continue at the current pace, these groups would receive only a fraction of what was raised for the Indian Ocean tsunamis, which totaled $1.3-billion, or for Hurricane Katrina, which to date comes to $1.8-billion."

Thursday, October 20, 2005

The Katrina Quandary - Christianity Today Magazine

The Katrina Quandary - Christianity Today Magazine: "The Katrina Quandary
America questions the role of Christian charity.
by Ted Olsen | posted 10/20/2005 09:00 a.m


• Related articles and links

'We've got to stop the flow of water,' Seventh-day Adventist disaster services director Charlene Sargent told the Los Angeles Times two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck land. She wasn't talking about broken levees, but about the truckloads of donated drinking water. 'If you took everything we got this weekend and put it in New Orleans,' she said, 'it would raise the elevation so it wouldn't flood again.'

In the first week after Katrina, U.S. charities raised over $500 million—more than 2.5 times the cost of the Louisiana Purchase, adjusted for inflation. Within three weeks, American giving surpassed $1 billion, and in less than four, it had surpassed the to-date gifts for victims of last year's Asian tsunami. And that was just what got on the books—it doesn't count the Houston families who rushed to the Astrodome offering housing and food, nor the kindhearted Good Samaritans who loaded up whatever they could find and drove as far into Louisiana as they could.

The Katrina donations may herald a new revolution in giving, said The Christian Science Monitor. 'People want to participate in a charity walk or hand out sandwiches at a shelter,' Stacy Palmer, editor of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, told the paper. 'They want to take their involvement way beyond just writing a check.'"

HoustonChronicle.com - Stoic, storm-struck Texans issue call for help

HoustonChronicle.com - Stoic, storm-struck Texans issue call for help: "Stoic, storm-struck Texans issue a call: 'We need help'
By LISA FALKENBERG
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

HOW TO HELP
• East Texas Rita Fund, benefiting 12 counties represented by the Deep East Texas Council of Governments. Contributions to: First National Bank, P.O. Box 700, Jasper, TX 75951

• Southeast Texas Emergency Relief Fund for Hurricane Rita Recovery, established by business and philanthropic leaders in Beaumont. Contributions to: P.O. Box 201943, Houston, TX 77216-1943

East Texans generally aren't the first to ask for help.

After Hurricane Rita, they set up their own health clinics and food banks, foraged for food and helped neighbors get the supplies they needed while waiting for federal relief.

As Hank Williams Jr. sang in what's become an anthem for the East Texas region, 'Country folks can survive.' But only for so long.

After more than three weeks of disappointing responses from the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and spotty media coverage, several Southeast Texas officials and business leaders are starting their own relief efforts and openly appealing to fellow Texans for assistance."

Here's a chance to boost both giving and tax benefits

Here's a chance to boost both giving and tax benefits: "Here's a chance to boost both giving and tax benefits

Picture

Zoom

Events in 2005 have called for an unprecedented outpouring of generosity from individuals, nonprofit organizations and government to aid victims of natural disasters. Americans have responded with record levels of charitable giving to assist those in need, raising more than $1 billion.

It's heartening to know that something good has come out of the sadness and dislocation of Hurricane Katrina. That bit of brightness is the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act, known as KETRA, which Congress unanimously passed on Sept. 21 and President Bush signed into law on Sept. 23.
"

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "LGBT Charity Delivers Humanitarian Aid to Guatemala..."

PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "LGBT Charity Delivers Humanitarian Aid to Guatemala...": "LGBT Charity Delivers Humanitarian Aid to Guatemala; LGBT Relief Effort for Central America in Wake of Massive Flooding

10/19/2005 6:57:00 PM

To: National and International desks

Contact: Jeff Cotter of Rainbow World Fund, 415-431-1485

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 19 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Rainbow World Fund (RWF) has returned from a humanitarian aid trip to Guatemala. Their team of 13 volunteers collected and delivered more than 1,000 pounds of medical and school supplies -- including antibiotics, IV bags, and medical equipment -- along with much- needed financial assistance for organizations working to improve the lives of Guatemalans. During its trip, RWF met with groups and individuals fighting to improve the lives of Guatemalans through better health care, education, safe water, labor rights, indigenous (Mayan) rights, and LGBT civil rights"

The BG News - Don’t end the charitable giving

The BG News - Don’t end the charitable giving: "Don’t end the charitable giving

By George Washington University - Staff Editorial

October 18, 2005

When American charities raised over $597 million for the Tsunami, Nicole Wallace of The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported, “so much money has come in that several relief organizations have announced that they have stopped actively raising money for relief efforts.”

Then came Hurricane Katrina.

Once again the world stepped up to the plate and donated almost $600 million. Although two tragedies had just occurred, there was a sense that the world had come together, improving international relations and drastically improving the budgets of The Red Cross and other charitable organizations.

Then came mud slides in Guatemala.

And an earthquake in Pakistan.

Now that surplus from both the Tsunami and Katrina is gone. I"

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Tax Favored Treatment for Early Distributions from IRAs and other Retirement Plans for Victims of Hurricane Katrina

Tax Favored Treatment for Early Distributions from IRAs and other Retirement Plans for Victims of Hurricane Katrina: "
Tax Favored Treatment for Early Distributions from IRAs and other Retirement Plans for Victims of Hurricane Katrina


IR-2005-122, Oct. 17, 2005.

Washington — The Internal Revenue Service today is advising taxpayers who suffered losses as a result of Hurricane Katrina to be aware of recent changes in the tax law that may be beneficial if they have funds in certain retirement plans. The new law provides for tax-favored withdrawals, recontributions, and loans."

UNCG Teaching Fellows join Katrina relief efforts - Carolinian - Campus News

UNCG Teaching Fellows join Katrina relief efforts - Carolinian - Campus News: "The North Carolina Teaching Fellows of UNCG are giving the world a lesson in humanitarianism. In the face of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina the Teaching Fellows sponsored their own philanthropic project, 'Caring for Katrina's Kids,' to aid the advancement of education in the Gulf Coast.

The effort seeks to raise a total of $25,000 to help Harper McCaughan Elementary School, a school destroyed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The project originated in the Teaching Fellows sophomore Seminar Class where Dr. Carl Lashley, a Teaching Fellow professor, encouraged his students to do something positive about the Gulf Coast crisis. T"

Forecasters Fear Grim Scenario for Fla. - Yahoo! News

Forecasters Fear Grim Scenario for Fla. - Yahoo! News: "Forecasters Fear Grim Scenario for Fla.

By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. - Visitors were ordered out of the Florida Keys on Wednesday as Hurricane Wilma exploded into the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, with meteorologists warning that it could maintain devastating power as it crossed Florida from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic."

White House: Religious Schools Can Get Aid - Yahoo! News

White House: Religious Schools Can Get Aid - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - Religious schools and other private, nonprofit organizations that provide government-type services are eligible for federal grants and loans to rebuild facilities damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Bush administration said Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT

'
President Bush believes that hurricanes, floods and earthquakes don't discriminate on the basis of religion and that government's response to them should not either,' said Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives"

Wilma intensifies into 'catastrophic' Category 5 hurricane - Yahoo! News

Wilma intensifies into 'catastrophic' Category 5 hurricane - Yahoo! News: "MIAMI (AFP) - Wilma has intensified into a 'catastrophic' Category 5 hurricane, churning northward between western Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, the US
National Hurricane Center said.
ADVERTISEMENT
click here

'Wilma is a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane that is moving over very warm waters,' the center said early Wednesday in noting that the hurricane -- the 21st storm of the 2005 Atlantic season -- had strengthened to the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale."

HoustonChronicle.com - Trailers offer shelter close to home as repairs made

HoustonChronicle.com - Trailers offer shelter close to home as repairs made: "Trailers offer shelter close to home as repairs made
Up to 2,000 East Texas families are eligible, but some anti-poverty groups are critical
By LORI RODRIGUEZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

KHOU.com | News for Houston, Texas |American Red Cross response to Hurricane Rita

KHOU.com | News for Houston, Texas | Local News / Houston: "American Red Cross response to Hurricane Rita

08:21 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 18, 2005

From 11 News Staff Reports

The American Red Cross relies on the American people to aid hurricane survivors by making a donation to the Disaster Relief Fund. Hurricane season is not over and, according to the Houston Area Red Cross, giving to the Disaster Relief Fund has never been more important.

As of October 17, 2005, here are some facts about the Red Cross response to Hurricane Rita:

� To date, the American Red Cross has opened case files for more than 97,280 Texas families who received direct damage to their homes as a direct result of Hurricane Rita.

� In Texas, the Red Cross has provided $75.8 million in individual financial assistance.

� Since Hurricane Rita slammed ashore, the Red Cross has provided shelter to 62,990 hurricane evacuees in 358 shelters in Texas.

� Six shelters remained open in Texas, providing accommodations to 467 individuals and families."

The Harvard Crimson :: Opinion ::

The Harvard Crimson :: Opinion ::: "Harvard’s unique capacities make money the least efficient way for the University to help
Published On Tuesday, October 18, 2005 1:48 AM
By ALEX SLACK
Crimson Staff Writer
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Harvard University’s responses to recent natural disasters have been models for other institutions to follow. And that’s exactly the problem.

In the wake of last December’s devastating tsunami in Asia, University President Lawrence H. Summers announced that the University would match donations to 26 approved charities up to $100 per person. The effort raised over $500,000, with Harvard contributing $245,877 in matching funds. After Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi, the University again matched donations to eight charities up to $100 per person. All Harvard schools took in displaced students from Loyola and Tulane universities, with the College eventually accepting 36 undergraduates.

When compared to the responses of other schools, Harvard’s generosity outpaces almost every one. None of our peer Ivy institutions matched donations for the tsunami, and only Yale did so for Katrina. President Summers should continue to utilize the University’s unique resources to aid disaster victims in whatever ways possible. But matching donations for the tsunami and for Katrina have set a dangerous precedent—recently broken by Harvard’s choice not to match donations for the earthquake in Kashmir—that encourages our community to judge Harvard’s responses solely on a monetary basis. It is a slippery slope that the University must not traverse. For future disasters, Harvard should cease impersonating a charitable organization and instead focus on the unique and valuable ways it can help as an institution of higher learning. "

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

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Habitat hammers out ambitious plan

Habitat hammers out ambitious plan: "Habitat hammers out ambitious plan
Nonprofit ratchets up home building pace
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
By Leslie Williams
Staff writer

The New Orleans affiliate of Habitat for Humanity is poised to build at least 150 homes for low-income residents of the city during the next nine months -- an unprecedented feat for a nonprofit organization that averages about nine homes a year, said Jim Pate, director of the local chapter.

In the following 24-month period, another 1,000 to 2,000 Habitat houses will be constructed in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes, according to a home-building effort fueled by Habitat for Humanity International."

NPR : Disaster Aid Donations Remain Steady

NPR : Disaster Aid Donations Remain Steady: "Disaster Aid Donations Remain Steady

Listen to this story... by Luke Burbank

Morning Edition, October 18, 2005 � A tsunami in Asia, hurricanes in the United States and an earthquake in South Asia raise the question of whether 'compassion fatigue' would slow charitable donations. But so far, aid organizations say they are not seeing a drop-off in giving.
"

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Scots quake donations reach �1.6m

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Scots quake donations reach �1.6m: "Scots quake donations reach �1.6m

Generous Scots have now donated �1.6 million to the South Asia earthquake appeal, it has been announced.

The sum is part of more than �15 million which has been pledged across Britain to the Disasters Emergency Committee's (DEC) fundraising effort."

United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - Analysis: Asia quake worse than tsunami?

United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - Analysis: Asia quake worse than tsunami?: "Analysis: Asia quake worse than tsunami?

By WILLIAM M. REILLY
UPI U.N. Correspondent

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- U.N. humanitarian officials say relief continues to pour in for the mounting number of victims from the South Asia earthquake and some officials said the destruction of structures may be worse than the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami.

The earthquake dead are estimated at near 30,000 with huge swathes of the Himalayas in northern Pakistan still unreachable. Some 176,000 were killed in the tsunami, but another 50,000 are still missing.

The earthquake has destroyed more than 80 percent of structures and buildings in parts of northern Pakistan, officials in the nation's capital, Islamabad, said. Many cities and villages in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and North West Frontier Province, the most affected areas, have been wiped out."

Red Cross in critics' cross hairs - Yahoo! News

Red Cross in critics' cross hairs - Yahoo! News: "When Americans stepped up to help victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, most wrote the check to the
American Red Cross.
ADVERTISEMENT

The nation's largest disaster-relief organization has received more than 70% of the $1.7 billion Americans have donated to hurricane relief: $1.2 billion has poured in to the Red Cross since Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.

The Red Cross has sent 172,000 volunteers to run shelters, feed evacuees and give money to families. It opened 1,150 shelters; this weekend it was still housing 7,139 people in 81 shelters. It has given cash to 1.1 million families.

But with visibility has come scrutiny and some criticism:"

Monday, October 17, 2005

Corporate Donations to Katrina Relief on Track to Surpass Tsunami Corporate Giving

CECP | Tracking Disaster Relief Efforts




CECP hosts conference call Friday, October 14 at 2:00 EST to discuss corporate response to the earthquake in Pakistan. For more information contact: info@corphilanthropy.org

CECP members are actively assisting with recovery efforts in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. To facilitate information sharing, CECP members are asked to provide updates on their disaster relief efforts by providing press releases and program updates.

* CECP Press Release - Corporate Donations to Katrina Relief on Track to Surpass Tsunami Corporate Giving ~ Early Comparative Crisis Data Released by CECP, Including Data from 21 Fortune 100 Companies
CECPpressrelease091905.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Tri-City Herald: Local- Charities provide aid between crises

Tri-City Herald: Local: "Charities provide aid between crises

This story was published Sunday, October 16th, 2005

By Andrew Sirocchi, Herald staff writer

Food drives, clothes drives and fund-raisers sprang up around the Mid-Columbia almost immediately after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.

Doctors and nurses volunteered their time and expertise. Businesses donated their services. More than two dozen refugees found dry homes among Tri-Citians who opened their doors.

Now, local nonprofit groups are asking generous Mid-Columbians to remember that charity starts at home."

Katrina, gas costs sting charities

Katrina, gas costs sting charities: "Katrina, gas costs sting charities

By HEMA EASLEY
THE JOURNAL NEWS
Powered by Topix.net
(Original publication: October 16, 2005)

Just before Hurricane Katrina hit, Helen Hayes Hospital sent out 1,800 invitations for its annual fundraising gala in November, based on the theme 'New Orleans Style.'

The event had been planned in advance, and the invitations were in the mail, so the hospital couldn't change the theme. But when the extent of the destruction became apparent, Helen Hayes felt it was only appropriate to commit a portion of the money to help the hurricane victims."

The Hindu News Update Service-UK disaster fund reaches 12 mn pounds

The Hindu News Update Service: "UK disaster fund reaches 12 mn pounds

London, Oct. 17. (Guardian News Service): The British Disasters Emergency Committee has raised GBP12m for survivors of the South Asia earthquake since launching its appeal earlier this week.

A spokesman for the organisation, which is coordinating the fundraising efforts of 13 aid agencies, said: 'We were receiving donations on Monday morning, when we had 1,000 lines open and people were also able to make donations online. We made an official announcement at Tuesday midday with our phone number and we launched the TV ads on Thursday, when we also had a live call centre.'"

Nonprofits fear fatigue - Top Stories - MSNBC.com

Nonprofits fear fatigue - Top Stories - MSNBC.com: "Nonprofits fear fatigue
Related Stories

By Peter Key
Philadelphia Business Journal
Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET Oct. 16, 2005

The AIDS Fund will give out bottles of water to participants in its annual AIDS Walk Philly on Sunday. But the bottles won't be donated, as they have been in years past. Instead, the Philadelphia-based nonprofit will have to pay for them.

The reason? The water that would have been donated to the AIDS Fund was shipped south to victims of Hurricane Katrina."