There is a major difference between those affected by natural, physical, disasters such as floods, earthquakes and hurricanes and the emotional disaster of what happened in Newtown. Their houses are still standing, they still have their jobs, the infrastructure is still sound...it's their hearts that are broken. The Red Cross is actually asking people to donate instead to The Sandy Hook School Support Fund, a special fund set up by the Western Connecticut chapter of the United Way to provide support services to the families that have been affected.
A listing of local support organizations and special funds, and how to make contributions, can be found easily online. Here's a comprehensive list as of tonight. Project Linus is mentioned, but I'm sending my check to the Newtown Memorial Fund to help pay for funeral costs and fund a permament memorial. As always, watch out for scams and do some checking before making any monetary donation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...n_2302760.html