HELP WITH THE KATRINA EFFORT
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I know we are all concerned about the lack of speed in which federal help is being provided to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I did some research, and came up with a list of things you could do to help. Every small bit helps. Have a great weekend and keep yourselves healthy.

1. Pray (Mostly, I like to say a little prayer for myself before I start praying for others.)

2. Visit http://www.networkforgood.org/ for a directory of all organizations involved in the the relief effort and how you can donate to them. Or visit http://katrinahelp.info/wiki/index.php/Main_Page for general info on helping.

3. Write your favorite AND your less favorite congressperson and senator. Encourage them to hurry federal aide and rescue efforts to New Orleans. You can write the president too, but his helper monkey might not know how to read either. http://www.house.gov/writerep/ and http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

3. Encourage friends and associates who are looking for family members to search the International Red Cross family registry at http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina

4. The Red Cross discourages donations of collected goods and individual items for disaster relief except from major corporations who may have a large and nearly unlimited supply. All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of this disaster and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting .


5. Visit http://www.mercycorps.org/ or http://www.feedthechildren.org to make donations. Google.com, Yahoo.com, and Amazon.com all have relief effort links where you can make donations.

6. Don't have money but time? Call the Red Cross and see how you can donate your time. http://www.redcross.org/where/chapts.asp

7. See how you can help lost and displaced pets and animals: http://muttcats.com/ ; http://www.kittico.org/ ; and http://www.hsus.org/ (The Humane Society)

8. Write, call, and e-mail the big corporations and ask them how they're going to help with the relief effort. Go to www.hoovers.com to find contact information on your favorite companies. I'd suggest companies like Wal-Mart, Target, McDonald's, Kellogg's, and the oil companies.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 SW 8th St.
Bentonville, AR 72716 (Map)
Phone: 479-273-4000
Fax: 479-273-4053

http://www.walmartstores.com
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Target
1000 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403 (Map)
Phone: 612-304-6073
Fax: 612-696-3731
http://www.target.com

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Kellogg's
1 Kellogg Sq.
Battle Creek, MI 49016-3599 (Map)
Phone: 269-961-2000
Fax: 269-961-2871
Toll Free: 800-962-1413

http://www.kelloggcompany.com
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McDonald's
McDonald's Plaza
Oak Brook, IL 60523 (Map)
Phone: 630-623-3000
Fax: 630-623-5004

http://www.mcdonalds.com
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Exxon
5959 Las Colinas Blvd.
Irving, TX 75039-2298 (Map)
Phone: 972-444-1000
Fax: 972-444-1350

http://www.exxon.mobil.com