My family evacuated Aug. 28, 2005 from the path of Hurricane Katrina. I was able to return September 7, having power but no phone, television or Internet. Within days, I had all these. In much of the New Orleans and surrounding area it will be a long time before they have these simple things which we took for granted for so long. We were very blessed to have escaped with no loss of life and minimal property damage. Update: Our roof has been replaced and most repairs have been made to our fence and other areas.

My prayers and thoughts go out to those who lost loved ones in the storm, to those who are now without homes or possessions. There is much work to be done, but this too shall pass in time and we will go on. New Orleans will be a different city perhaps, but it will stand.

Since Katrina, we've had a few other storms raise havoc in this area. Of course, Rita right after Katrina and Gustav in 2008. We did evacuate for Gustav (as it turned out we were still in the path of the storm and were without electricity at our evacuation location). We returned home to no electricity or running water. My son left for Army Basic Training Sept. 8, shortly after we returned home. We replaced our living room carpet which was ruined by something that leaked from our freezer we think.

Waiting to see what this year's storms bring...

You can check Lion Brand for a list of Katrina-related and other charities. Check to be sure the charity is both legit and still accepting donations.
 

Crocheters and Knitters
The organizations below have been consistent with their help to Katrina victims.
 Check with them to make sure they are still in operation before mailing items.

Close Knit Hugs
Maggie Tatum is working closely with Heather of Blankets for the Gulf as they try to help as many Gulf residents as they can. Maggie is collecting 8" knitted or squares to be joined into ghans for victims of Katrina and other disasters. Squares should use bulky or chunky yarn, or two strands worsted weight and be 8" SQUARE (that means in both directions).

Blankets for the Gulf
inquiries to Heather Foeh, based in Texas
Read Heather's account of the first delivery. Very interesting.
Accepts all sizes and types
 

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According to www.snopes.com
Reports indicate numerous fraudulent requests for donations to aid hurricane Katrina relief efforts. These requests typically arrive via mass-mailings and appear to originate from legitimate charitable organizations. The messages are designed to entice users to access a web site and make a donation via a credit card. When the user attempts to access the site, the browser is redirected to a malicious web site. In addition to accepting a donation, these sites are likely to attempt to install malicious code on the system.

Users are advised to verify the organization and URL to which they are donating money. A listing of contact information for various charitable organizations is available at the following link: FEMA.

Users are advised to not respond to e-mails requesting donations for relief efforts, as legitimate organizations typically do not request funds in this method.

Additionally, but along the same vein, domain names have been registered using the word "katrina" so folks would be misled into visiting them. Three that have been deemed suspicious by the state of Arizona include katrinahelp.com, katrinacleanup.com, and katrinarelief.com.

To report price gouging:
(800) 488-2770

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I've gathered together some information both for victims and for those who want to help. I have concentrated on Louisiana as that is my area, but there is a section for folks in Texas, thanks to a link from Crochet with Dee.

I am listing the following as resources but do not have personal experience with these organizations unless noted. I present them to you as an option you might investigate.

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Special Note. The information below was taken from the AIP web site and is current as of Sunday, September 11. The article gives great suggestions for wise giving. Note that other charities may certainly be legitimate. This is only a starting point for you.

American Institute of Philanthropy, a leading charity watchdog that issues letter grade (A to F) ratings of nonprofit groups, identifies the following relief charities, which are providing aid to the victims. These charities have received an “A” or “B” grade based on the portion of their budget going to program services and their fundraising efficiency.

Note: Links will open in a new window

American Friends Service Committee (A)
American Red Cross (A-)
AmeriCares (B)
America's Second Harvest (B+)
Christian Children's Fund (A)
Church World Service (A-)
Direct Relief International (B+)
Food for the Hungry (B)
International Medical Corps (A+)
International Rescue Committee (A+)
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger (A+)
Mercy Corps (B+)
Northwest Medical Teams International (B)
Oxfam-America (B+)
Salvation Army (A)
Samaritan's Purse (B)
Save the Children (A)
World Concern (B)
World Vision (B+)

Due to member requests, we have posted the following two groups involved in the rescue of pets:
Best Friends Animal Society (B+)
In Defense of Animals (B)

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Hurricane Insurance Numbers

http://www.disasterinformation.org/findins.htm

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One of my favorite web sites has a list of charities and other information relating to Katrina
Bev's Country Cottage

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Registries

CNN http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/hurricanes/list/index.html
NOLA  http://www.nola.com/
WWL-TV www.wwltv.com
WDSU-TV  www.wdsu.com
Number for families to let soldiers overseas know they are okay:
(888) 777-7731

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About.com (craft links) http://crochet.about.com/od/otherinfo/a/crochet2help.htm?nl=1

AmeriCares

American Institute of Philanthropy (Charity Watch)
http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/hurricane_katrina.html

Angel Flight America
Phone: 1-800-989-2602
http://www.angelflightamerica.org/index.php

Answers in Genesis  http://www.answersingenesis.org/donate/katrinarelief.asp

ASPCA  http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer

Audubon Zoo www.auduboninstitute.org/

Bev's Country Cottage (crochet/knit links)

CGOA (Texas) http://home.earthlink.net/~linkslilyray/

Charity Navigator (list of 4 star rated charities)

Catholic Charities
Phone: 1-800-919-9338
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/news/katrina.cfm

Children's Health Fund www.childrenshealthfund.org

Disabilities (list of agencies and aid) http://katrinadisability.info/

Episcopal Relief and Development  http://www.er-d.org/

FedEx http://www.fedex.com/us/update2.html?link=4

FEMA http://www.fema.gov/

Heart to Heart
http://www.hearttoheart.org/

The Humane Society of the United States — Call 1-800-Humane1, or e-mail disaster@hsus.org to report pets in danger.
http://www.hsus.org/

Hugs for Homeless Animals
https://humanebenefits.securesites.com/giveto/DRF/HKDRF.html

The Hunger Site (Mercy Corps)

Linda Fulkerson links and ideas http://www.lindafulkerson.com/disaster%20relief.htm

Lion Brand http://www.lionbrand.com/reliefCharities.html

LDS Humanitarian Services

Louisiana Disaster Recovery
Donations that will be directed specifically to victims in Louisiana can be sent to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, PO Box 94095, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095. Credit card donations are accepted at www.louisiana.gov

Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness
7667 Independence Blvd.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806
Phone: (225) 925-7500
Fax: (225) 925-7501
http://www.loep.state.la.us

Louisiana Homeland Security
http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/

Louisiana Red Cross http://www.louisianaredcross.org

Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
http://www.la-spca.org/

Military One Source
families needing assistance locating loved ones and finding support for their families www.militaryonesource.com or call 1-800-342-9647

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
http://www.pointsoflight.org/about/katrina/

The Network For Good (list of organizations)
Phone: 1-866-650-4636
http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/animal_environ/hurricanes/

New Orleans Assistance (for churches, ministers and others)
 from http://www.joemckeever.com/mt/
 helping churches, ministers and others
NEW ORLEANS ASSISTANCE
in care of Louisiana Baptist Foundation
P. O. Box 311
Alexandria, LA 71309

New Orleans Police Dept Aid http://www.nopd-aid.org/

North American Mission Board

Operation Blessing
http://www.ob.org/

Petfinder http://www.petfinder.org/disaster/

Pets  http://katrinafoundpets.com/

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance http://www.pcusa.org/pda/response/usa/hurricanekatrina-index.htm

Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/

Road closures

Salvation Army 
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/USNSAHome.htm or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY

Samaritan's Purse
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

Shaklee www.shakleecares.org

shoes http://www.katrinashoes.org/

Truth Laid Bear
http://www.truthlaidbear.com/katrinacharities.php
http://www.truthlaidbear.com/webrelief.php

United States Postal Services  http://www.usps.com/

UPS
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/news/service_updates/Katrina.html

Western Union  http://www.westernunion.com/info/HurricaneKatrina.asp

World Hope International
Phone: (703) 923-9414
http://www.worldhope.org/worldhope/aboutnew.htm

World Vision

Please visit my other web sites, Sandra’s Backyard, SandraPetit.com, and Crafty Corral