One week later: The daunting recovery in Oklahoma - CNN.com

One week later: The daunting recovery in Oklahoma - CNN.com: "Moore, Oklahoma (CNN) -- One week after a tornado devastated the lives and landscape of Moore, much of the city seems frozen in time. But despite the staggering wreckage that still litters the ground, the road to recovery is well under way."

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Red Cross Fund For Sandy Aid Largely Still Unspent

Red Cross Fund For Sandy Aid Largely Still Unspent: — Seven months after Superstorm Sandy, the Red Cross still hasn't spent more than a third of the $303 million it raised to assist victims of the storm, a strategy the organization says will help address needs that weren't immediately apparent in the disaster's wake.

Some disaster relief experts say that's smart planning. But others question whether the Red Cross, an organization best known for rushing into disasters to distribute food and get people into shelter, should have acted with more urgency in the weeks after the storm and left long-haul recovery tasks to someone else.

Lutheran Disaster Response - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Lutheran Disaster Response - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Lutheran Disaster Response
Our response to disasters in the U.S. and around the world; look for sections of this blog related to specific disaster locations. Comments are welcomed and moderated.

Oklahoma Legislature Lauds Jewish Tornado Assistance - Chabad-Lubavitch News

Oklahoma Legislature Lauds Jewish Tornado Assistance - Chabad-Lubavitch News: "Showing its gratitude for the immediate and ongoing support and assistance offered by Jewish groups and individuals from around the country, the Oklahoma House of Representatives gave a standing ovation Thursday to Rabbi Ovadia Goldman, co-director of The Chabad Community Center of Southern Oklahoma, and New York State Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder."

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Six CNY churches join forces to bring relief to Oklahoma tornado victims : News : CNYcentral.com

Six CNY churches join forces to bring relief to Oklahoma tornado victims : News : CNYcentral.com:

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Carrie Underwood Donates $1 Million to Red Cross for Oklahoma Tornado Relief | E! Online

Carrie Underwood Donates $1 Million to Red Cross for Oklahoma Tornado Relief | E! Online: "This week's tornado in Oklahoma hit close to home for Carrie Underwood.
The Sooner State native has donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts."

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GOP Donor Friess Commits $1M to Tornado Relief with Caveats - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

GOP Donor Friess Commits $1M to Tornado Relief with Caveats - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Foster Friess, a former investment manager from Wyoming and big Republican donor to Super PACs in the last election, has pledged $1 million to help those affected by the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, and he is issuing a challenge for matching funds, although he will donate the money with or without a match.

FirstGiving Supports Continued Fundraising Efforts for Boston Marathon Victims

FirstGiving Supports Continued Fundraising Efforts for Boston Marathon Victims: Ultra-athletes Frank Fumich and Matt Nelson will run over 450 miles from Arlington, VA, to the site of the Boston Marathon finish line as part of fundraising efforts for Boston Marathon bombing victims. The pair has already raised over $52,000 for two families impacted by the bombings and they hope to reach a new goal totaling $78,600 by the time they finish their non-stop trek.

College Confidential: Big 12 donates donates $200,000 to Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund

College Confidential: Big 12 donates donates $200,000 to Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund: he Big 12 Conference Board of Directors announced Wednesday a donation of $200,000 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund in the wake of Monday's tornado that ripped through Moore, Okla. The contribution will be from the proceeds of the Big 12 baseball championship in Oklahoma City, Thursday through Sunday.

$2B in Okla. tornado damage means hard recovery - Yahoo! News

$2B in Okla. tornado damage means hard recovery - Yahoo! News: "Patteson's home was among as many as 13,000 homes damaged or destroyed Monday when the twister plowed through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore. About 33,000 people were affected, officials said, though the number left homeless was still unknown because most of the displaced were believed to be staying with friends or relatives; only two dozen or so have stayed overnight at Red Cross shelters.
Officials estimated the damage could top $2 billion."

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Oklahoma tornado: Where the financial relief will come from - CSMonitor.com

Oklahoma tornado: Where the financial relief will come from - CSMonitor.com: "Oklahoma tornado: Where the financial relief will come from
It will take more than $1 billion in insurance payouts and relief aid to help rebuild Moore, Okla., in the wake of Monday’s devastating tornado. Here’s where the money will come from, and where it is likely to go."

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USM stops solicitations for tornado relief campaign in deference to Okla. tornado victims

USM stops solicitations for tornado relief campaign in deference to Okla. tornado victims: HATTIESBURG, Mississippi — The University of Southern Mississippi has stopped its own tornado relief fundraising campaigns in deference to storm victims in Oklahoma.

A global charity is advocating for child-based disaster resilience planning at this week's Global Platform - News - Professional Resources - PreventionWeb.net

A global charity is advocating for child-based disaster resilience planning at this week's Global Platform - News - Professional Resources - PreventionWeb.net: As part of a Children’s Charter, the charity and its NGO partners interviewed over 600 children in 21 high risk countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, asking them to suggest their key concerns during disasters and offer suggestions for planning for disasters.

During the interviews, children told of issues such as structural safety problems in their communities; exploitation and abuse during disasters and a lack of access to useful information.

Feeding America Responds To Oklahoma Tornado And Prepares For Future Disaster Relief - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee

PRESS RE:LEASE

Feeding America Responds To Oklahoma Tornado And Prepares For Future Disaster Relief - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee: CHICAGO, May 21, 2013 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization, and its member, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, based in Oklahoma City, are working together to provide truckloads of emergency food, water and supplies to the thousands of people impacted by the tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma yesterday.

Moore Tornado Shows Federal Disaster Aid Must Be Reformed - Economic Intelligence (usnews.com)

Moore Tornado Shows Federal Disaster Aid Must Be Reformed - Economic Intelligence (usnews.com): But if history is any lesson, the fast action of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and availability of funds won't feel like enough – and additional funds will be requested to help communities rebuild. These additional funds could come in the form of an emergency supplemental appropriations bill, like we saw in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, or in increases and designations in the regular appropriations bills, or both.

Gifts of Goods Surge in Oklahoma Twister's Wake - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Gifts of Goods Surge in Oklahoma Twister's Wake - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The devastating tornado that killed at least 24 people in Oklahoma Monday brought an outpouring of donated materials for survivors that kept volunteers and aid workers busy and prompted local broadcasters to ask that people limit giving to the most needed items, the Los Angeles Times writes.

Oklahoma governor thanks media for tornado coverage | Poynter.

Oklahoma governor thanks media for tornado coverage | Poynter.: The Vital Role of Online and Mobile

When I spoke with him Tuesday morning, an exhausted-sounding KFOR Interim News Director Steve Johnson was juggling the demands of coordinating another day of storm cleanup and what will likely be another afternoon of heavy storms. At the moment we spoke, he said 2,200 people “are looking at our live stream; 213 are looking at a video story from Moore.”

KWTV’s VP of Digital and Social Content Billy Hendrix said his station set a new record for online traffic, 2.5 million page views.

FCC announces waivers for tornado relief fundraising on-air | Radio Survivor

FCC announces waivers for tornado relief fundraising on-air | Radio Survivor: Tuesday the FCC announced procedures for obtaining waivers to permit non-commercial stations to raise money on-air for Moore, Oklahoma tornado relief efforts. Although the Commission has yet to approve rules for non-commercial stations to do on-air fundraising for third-parties,

$11B balance in federal disaster aid fund; No new monies needed for Okla. tornado recovery - The Washington Post

$11B balance in federal disaster aid fund; No new monies needed for Okla. tornado recovery - The Washington Post: — Top lawmakers and officials said Tuesday that the federal government has plenty of money on hand to pay for recovery efforts in the wake of the devastating tornado that struck Oklahoma.

The government has more than $11 billion in its main disaster relief fund. Recovery costs in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore are expected to be a relatively small fraction of that amount. The devastating 2011 tornado that wiped out much of Joplin, Mo., for instance, required about $750 million in federal disaster aid.

Charitable Giving - Do's and Don'ts of Helping During a Disaster

Charitable Giving - Do's and Don'ts of Helping During a Disaster: Whether it is an earthquake or tsunami halfway around the world or a tornado and flood in our own country, we often are called upon to help in a crisis.

But in many cases, we do just the things that don't help at all, but rather make the emergency even harder on those people and organizations working at the scene.