bkay

I'm in Dallas. We have 2 shelters open and are opening other shelters for the displaced residents. (They say they will be coming for another week.) I'm a regular volunteer in the local school district. I received an email yesterday from DISD asking for donations of uniforms and school supplies for the children who will be arriving and going to schools here for a while, at least.

I am currently making an I Spy quilt with no planned home. I thought a children's quilt would be a welcome possession for a child who has lost everything. If anyone wants to make one, I'll make sure it gets to the kids. The link the school district sent allows me to sign up for volunteering at the shelter, so I can make sure it gets to the proper place. I have lots of 5" squares I'll share if anyone is willing to make an I Spy quilt for the kids. My squares are 5". I got them in swaps, so they are varied and appropriate. PM me if you want me to mail some to you.

Other than donating the one I was making, I had no other plans until I read this thread. So, I'll start making the appropriate arrangements to handle this.

bkay

bungalow59

So, back to your question...
I suggest contacting the following:
West Houston Quilter's Guild
PO Box 84515
Houston, TX 77084
www.whqg.com

Quilt Guild of Greater Houston
qggh.org

You may not get a response while this community is still in great turmoil, but eventually, I'm sure local qulters in the area will launch into action (as most Quilter's do) and organize a donation campaign.
Your offer is kind and generous.

Onebyone

Thanks for the info. Money donations to the guild will be best for me and better for the guild, then sending bulk, save a lot of postage money that can be better used. I'll keep a watch on the website to know when to send donations.

SusieQOH

I had no idea Goodwill was not a charitable organization. I'll go to the others with stuff to donate. Thanks

TouchOfRustic

As a former Austinite, I'm definitely feeling the feelings we all are. I want to help but don't know how to from afar. I came across the following on Instagram and trust that the Linus Foundation will find a good home for a couple of my baby quilts. So they're off to Austin today! Hope this helps someone...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]579799[/ATTACH]

MaggieLou

Billy Graham's Samaritan's Purse is another organization that does great charity work. This would be another good place to donate funds. They have already sent trucks and trucks of supplies and yesterday left with several trucks filled with tools and supplies to help rebuild where needed.

klswift

At this moment, money is the best help. But, as these people have to start over and many only have the clothes on their backs, we can take our cotton and our skills and make simple clothing. Basic sundresses or shorts. Pajamas will be needed. Even if you are not a garment seamstress, these are simple and with kids, they require no 'real' fitting and will be so needed. And, how about when you go to target or that type of store, pick up a couple packages of underwear or socks. I'm sure we will hear of places to send them very soon - charitable organizations, churches, or the like. Many of these folks have no home to return to and will be temporarily relocated. At these new locations, they will need everything. This might be a great time for us to clean out our 'extra' stuff. Do you have an old set of dishes, pots and pans, towels, etc. that you won't use again but will make someone else thrilled to have? I'm sure there is an organization in your area that is putting together relief supplies. Call your city hall and ask.

elnan

I had a long comment to post on this, but lost it somewhere, I think when I hit enter while typing. Throughout the South, there are Methodist Women's Groups who maintain mobile kitchens that are prepped and ready to go where and when needed. Salvation Army has mobile kitchens, mobile showers in big 18-wheelers, mobile clean water, and you can choose the area you want your donation to go to. Red Cross would be the last place I would want to give money or items to. Since the floods of 1927 through the midsouth, Red Cross has not had good press with most of my family. That said, the daughter of a distant cousin devoted her working years to them as an RN, later setting up clinics and centers to treat victims of disaster.
Before donating a sewing machine to a group, I would want to be assured that they had access to electricity. I do know there are churches that donate hand operated machines abroad. To a child of the south who was raised without air conditioning, giving a quilt would be like donating a lace hankie to the Congo. I was an older adult before I saw quilts on beds. When I have donated in the aftermath of natural disasters, I felt better knowing the Salvation Army would put the money to best use in the area I chose. I did online searches and read news articles that showed photos of the mobile units in use and schedules of where they were going next.
My sister in Arkansas is still smarting from having her house trashed by the "poor people from Katrina". She was working out of town, so made her home available. The Red Cross put a family of 3 generations up in her home and they did not even take the garbage out of the kitchen or the can to road for pick-up. She learned later that the family had been given a stipend to turn over to her during that time.

madamekelly

From living in Texas, to really help the locals, contact the community officer in an area sheriffs office (public safety offices, they call them) and ask where your help would be most helpful. They are on the front lines, and actually know where your gift might help. Consider gifting it to a nursing home (look them up online) as a fundraiser to help replace items lost by residents? Why go for a "charity" when they all have overhead to spend money on, when you can send all of your help where it is most useful?

tropit

Thank you so much for starting this thread. I think that both quilts and cash are good donations. Just a simple quilt to the Linus Connection would bring some joy and security to a child that has gone through so much. The cash, on the other hand, is extremely practical and costs nothing to send in the way of shipping costs. I plan to do both.

As for the Red Cross and Salvation Army. I think that they both have their specific jobs and duties and one may be stronger in some areas of the country than others. I was in a serious, tropical storm in HI once and it was the Red Cross that came through for us. I've also heard wonderful things about the SA. IMHO, Both are great organizations that deserve your donations.

~ C