Donated Funds?

PPBart said:

I know victims of natural disasters -- like our 2016 flood or Hurricane Harvey -- need and deserve whatever help those of us fortunate to escape the disaster can provide. Last year I donated for local relief and I've already donated to several charities for TX. BUT I have to wonder where all the tens of Millions of $$$ actually go...? I know a lot of folks around here who flooded last year, but don't know anyone who received any specific aid from donations. How can we find out where the money goes?

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Firearmfanatic said:

Very good question. If possible and if I can, I hand the donation directly to the victims to make sure they get it and do not get "cheated" out of it. In the last few years I have become very "gun shy" of donating because of the possibility of it not going to the deserving victims. For sure one organization I will definitely not donate to is the Red Cross!

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wcweir3 said:

Do you mean that 3 chicken nuggets and a slice bread in not a meal?
Wingate

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wcweir3 said:

the Red Cross came around one time only when we were working on our flooded home and that what they served us no water as they were out!
Wingate

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Firearmfanatic said:

You got me lost on your reply. Either that or I am just slow and do not understand. But, I do like me some chicken nuggets.

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Gator 45/70 said:

Last August I donated cash and gift cards from Lowe's to those in need, Its best to by-pass all these charities that spring up all the sudden!

Now your church would be a different matter if they are sending out people and supply's!

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noob said:

My neighborhood rented a 24ft box truck and drove it to TX this past weekend. I donated that way, rather then giving my money to a company where I don't really know if it will end up in someone's hands. Since I work in a pharmacy, I decided to get them things that weren't as common (since everyone was already donating water and clothes). So I grabbed OTC medication's, nitrile gloves, hand sanitizer, toiletries etc along with cleaning supplies since they will probably have a lot of moldy clothes, and muds etc in the house.

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Kraut said:

Guys, I would vouch for a Texas group called Mobile Loaves & Fishes. They are based out of Austin, and their day-to-day mission is homeless outreach, but in the aftermath of Katrina, they loaded up several pickups and trailers and started East, driving until they landed where some help was needed, which happened to be where I work in Slidell. Not having previous experience with the headache that can be the Red Cross, our first instinct when they introduced themselves and explained what they wanted to do was to direct them to the shelter being run by the Red Cross. They were familiar with the Red Cross and their peculiar ways, and declined, asking instead if we would just provide them space and a few tables, then guide them to where there were people going without. They had an assembly line procedure to quickly put together hundreds of food bags containing sandwiches and condiments, fruit, crackers/cookies, water/juice, (they did the same EVERY NIGHT in Austin as their primary mission) as well as extra crates full of fresh fruit and pallets of canned goods and more water, and in no time we were escorting them through some of our poorest and hardest hit neighborhoods (also furthest from distribution sites being established on the North end of town) where they handed out food until their trucks were empty. A bag with a sandwich may not sound like much, but in the midst of that situation, a few days in when meager supplies were already dwindling and no grocery stores were open, there were lots of people immensely grateful to get them, and the cartons of apples, oranges, peaches, pears, and bananas they were giving out were received like gold. They also gave several pallets of canned goods to another nearby shelter not run by the Red Cross. Once they had expended their supplies and effort, they departed. I don't know whether they went home and reloaded for a return somewhere else or went back home to their normal routine after the one shot, but I'm sure they're in gear on their home turf getting down to business of directly feeding people that are hungry. I went online and donated right away, and I'm confident that any donations sent their way will be put to good use.

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