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A Little Bit More: Disaster and Emergency Relief

Hannah wrote this entry, the latest in a series of ways individuals can do just a little bit more to help people and organizations during the financial crisis.

Natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies tend to inspire an outpouring of relief efforts; we see evidence of this in the number of people who browse Idealist for volunteer opportunities in an affected region immediately following a disaster. And, of course, through the organizing efforts of The Red Cross, Oxfam, and other disaster relief agencies, we see opportunities for individuals to contribute in other ways - small donations of money, food, clothing, or blood add up to the critical support these organizations need to do the life-saving work they do.

For this edition of "A Little Bit More" we want to call attention to the small ways you can help:

• Stay up to date on emergencies, disasters, and funding appeals on ReliefWeb. Sign up for daily or weekly email updates, or subscribe with an RSS reader.


• The International Committee of the Red Cross is another extensive resource for the latest news on victims of war and other violence.


• Donate blood. Find a blood drive (United States only).


• Donate your spare change to the American Red Cross through a Coinstar machine.


• Register to help in a disaster. Sign up on HelpinDisaster.org, list your skills and availability, and you'll be contacted if you're needed.


• Join Oxfam America's Humanitarian Action Team and help influence United States legislation on humanitarian issues such as the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the earthquake in China, and the global food crisis.

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Previous entries in our A Little Bit More series:

March 17: Open Up Your Home
March 10: Exchange Services Through Time Banking
February 27: Donate Your Birthday
February 23: Support the Arts During the Economic Downturn
February 19: Use the Internet to Stretch Your Organization's Dollar
February 17: Asking One Another: What Can We Do Now?