At Change Gangs, we know that it’s never a good time to make a donation. It’s not like we all have piles of money laying around the house. So, we put aside a portion of our monthly donations, so that we can help out in scenarios like this. It’s like a savings account, but for emergency donations.
When Hurricane Harvey hit, we donated our Emergency Relief Fund to these 4 excellent charities…
The Cattery Cat Shelter
Located in Corpus Christi, The Cattery offers an alternative to traditional animal shelters in providing a no-kill, cage-free haven for homeless, abused, or abandoned cats until they are found loving homes.
Corpus Christi escaped the worst of the hurricane, and the Cattery had minimal physical damage. Given this, they find they are in a place to help, and so they are providing free boarding for people who have been displaced and need a place for their cats.
Houston SPCA
The Houston SPCA is experienced in responding to disasters. They have lent assistance, equipment and shelter for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike; the Gulf Oil spill of 2010, moving animals from packed Louisiana shelters to the Houston SPCA; and the Tri-County Wildfires of 2011. Most recently, they worked with the American Red Cross to establish emergency pet shelters for victims of the Great Houston Flood of 2015. In addition to finding homes for tens of thousands of animals each year, they have a 24-hour injured animal rescue ambulance, a partnership with the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and nine full-time animal cruelty investigators responding to over 7,000 reports of cruelty, abuse and neglect each year.
The Diaper Bank
The Diaper Bank provides families and seniors in crisis access to diapers, incontinence supplies, wipes, and other healthcare products. In 2016, they distributed 1,121,422 diapers, baby items, and incontinence supplies, but with tens of thousands of people displaced because of Hurricane Harvey, the need for diapers is sure to skyrocket.
The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund was created by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. The fund will be housed at the Greater Houston Community Foundation (GHCF). The GHCF was founded 20 years ago and, like most community foundations, helps local individuals and business collect funds and make grants designed to improve the community. It is common for disaster funds to be established with a local, community foundation, because they are able to handle accepting large amounts of donations and the disbursal of those funds.
So we were able to spread a little love to all these excellent charities. Giving circles make it easy to make a big difference. Why not join one today?
