How to help Typhoon Haiyan victims

The devastation and loss of life in the Philippines from Typhoon Haiyan is shocking. An estimated 10,000 people are dead. That’s just mind-boggling. If you’re like me, you feel called to do something. But what? Check out this clever video from the U.S. National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD). I’ll have some more ideas underneath it.

So, you’ve taken the hint and decided to partner with your dollars to help typhoon victims. Where do you send the dollars?

My first recommendation is for members of churches and/or other religious institutions. Look to your own faith organization. For example, I’m a member of a congregation of the Presbyterian Church USA, which has a disaster response ministry called Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). My first step, therefore, is to visit the PDA website to see if it is responding to the Philippines disaster. If you’re a United Methodist, consider the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). If you’re Lutheran, see what Lutheran Disaster Response is up to. If you’re a Jew, there’s NECHAMA. If you are Muslim, check out Islamic Relief USA. Etc., etc., you get the idea. If you don’t know what organization is responding on behalf of your faith, consult your clergy.

If there’s no response organization associated with your faith, or if you are not a member of a faith, another option is to consult the Web page of NVOAD, which produced the video public service announcement above. Nearly every bona fide national organization in the United States that’s involved in disaster response (including the faith-based organizations mentioned above) are members of NVOAD. You can find the member list here. Plus, the NVOAD site has lots of helpful information about coordinated disaster response.

So, choose the organization that best aligns with your personal philosophies and deploy your dollars to do their work. Truly, it’s the best way we can help right now.