Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bogobam. Here. We humans have big hearts,
Speaker 1: and when we see someone suffering, even if it's a
Speaker 1: stranger on the other side of the globe, we want
Speaker 1: to help. But in the rush to help others, we
Speaker 1: can end up doing more harm than good. If you
Speaker 1: really want to help the victims of devastating hurricanes, earthquakes, famines,
Speaker 1: and floods, here are a few tips. First of all,
Speaker 1: send money, not stuff. Charitable organizations receive so many boxes
Speaker 1: of used clothing, shoes, canned food, and flashlights that it
Speaker 1: overwhelms local staff and creates what some relief workers call
Speaker 1: the disaster After the disaster, unsolicited donations clog up the
Speaker 1: supply chain, take up space that could be used for
Speaker 1: life saving supplies, and are often inappropriate to the local
Speaker 1: needs and customs, like sending cans of spam to a
Speaker 1: Muslim community, for example, not to to the expense of
Speaker 1: transporting these goods, and that's why almost all disaster relief
Speaker 1: charities ask for cash donations. With money, they can buy
Speaker 1: exactly what victims need, often from local sources. Buying locally
Speaker 1: or regionally keeps money in the storm rattled local economy
Speaker 1: and cuts down on the logistics and costs of shipping.
Speaker 1: In rare cases, a charitable organization will ask for specific
Speaker 1: supplies to meet some urgent need. Local donations are always
Speaker 1: the best option, but if you really want to ship supplies,
Speaker 1: talk to the charity first. Make sure that you're sending
Speaker 1: exactly what they need and that someone on staff is
Speaker 1: prepared to receive it. Speaking of when you can give
Speaker 1: to local organizations, national and international organizations have convenient ways
Speaker 1: to donate, like via text and everything does help, but
Speaker 1: they're not automatically the best equipped to help local populations.
Speaker 1: In some cases, local groups with deep roots in the
Speaker 1: affected community have a better understanding of how to meet
Speaker 1: the immediate and long term needs of their people. The
Speaker 1: trick is finding the right organization to support. You want
Speaker 1: your money to make the biggest impact, and you certainly
Speaker 1: don't want to get scammed. Organizations like Charity Navigator and
Speaker 1: Charity Watch rate charitable organizations by their trustworthiness and transparency,
Speaker 1: and if you can think long term to help keep
Speaker 1: charities accountable. The investigative journalism organization Pro Publica encourages donors
Speaker 1: to follow up with organizations and ask for detailed information
Speaker 1: about how their money was spent and how many people
Speaker 1: were helped. You can also write to your congressional representatives
Speaker 1: and ask them to enact laws that require charities to
Speaker 1: disclose their spending in greater detail. Also on the topic
Speaker 1: of long term it's incredibly helpful to keep up the
Speaker 1: support after the headlines have faded. According to a report
Speaker 1: from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy or the c DP,
Speaker 1: of disaster related donations from large ritable foundations, corporations, government agencies,
Speaker 1: and online giving was spent on immediate disaster response and relief.
Speaker 1: That's because the intense media coverage surrounding disasters like hurricanes
Speaker 1: spurs people and foundations to give, But once the TV
Speaker 1: cameras leave town, donations dry up. C DP President and
Speaker 1: CEO Bob otten Hooff says that after about a week
Speaker 1: of overwhelming generosity, very little private money is invested in
Speaker 1: the longer term recovery of a storm battered region. I
Speaker 1: think of the homes, businesses, transportation, and jobs lost. Otten
Speaker 1: Hoff says a FEMA official from Texas told him the
Speaker 1: disaster recovery works in multiples of ten for every day
Speaker 1: of immediate relief, there are ten days required of mid
Speaker 1: term rebuilding and a hundred days of long term recovery.
Speaker 1: As so if it took ten days to provide immediate
Speaker 1: relief to the victims of Hurricane Harvey, the long term
Speaker 1: recovery for families, businesses, and Houston's infrastructure could go on
Speaker 1: for many years. The CDP collects charitable donations immediately after
Speaker 1: a disaster, but waits to invest the funds until it's
Speaker 1: clear what needs aren't being met by other nonprofits, government agencies,
Speaker 1: and insurance companies. That could be months after the initial disaster.
Speaker 1: Responding to Typhoon Hayen in the Philippines, in the c
Speaker 1: DP learned that sixty women were due to give birth
Speaker 1: without functioning hospitals, so the organization invested all of its
Speaker 1: money in maternal health services. Individuals can take the same
Speaker 1: approach if you can give to help with the immediate crisis,
Speaker 1: but then wait a few months and give again to
Speaker 1: support organizations that are doing ongoing work and housing, mental
Speaker 1: health counseling, employment assistance, and other long term services. Today's
Speaker 1: episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler
Speaker 1: Playing for more on this than lots of other helpful topics.
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