The need for human and cash resources is daunting in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and in the midst of the devastation left behind.  In our stewardship we are called upon to give our time and talents in response to God’s grace.  Disaster News Network released the following ideas yesterday which I thought you might find helpful in your personal response.

Free, fast ways to act

by Susan Kim, Disaster News Network

Short on cash and short on time? Here’s 10 ways to take action in the aftermath of Katrina, compiled from Disaster News Network sources. They cost nothing and take less than five minutes.

1. Pray for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and for people helping them. And don't forget to pray for survivors of other disasters that feel like they've been forgotten. Thousands of people are still recovering from last season's hurricanes in Florida. "We still have a lot of displaced people without homes," said Courtney James, program coordinator of the Florida-based Volusia Interfaiths/Agencies Networking in Disaster.

2. Enter the acronym ICE - for "In Case of Emergency" into your cell phone menu, with the phone number of your emergency contacts. "In an emergency situation, ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them," explained Les Kerr, law enforcement coordinator with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri.

 
3. Call and check on family members of relief workers you know who have been deployed in the affected states. In addition to representatives from faith-based and voluntary agencies, thousands of healthcare workers, National Guard, and other specialists are away from their families.

4. Turn off the TV and talk to your kids. Psychologists have found that repeatedly watching disturbing disaster-related images on television can have a profound effect on children.

5. Raise your hand at your next meeting and ask if your workplace is disaster-prepared. "If organizations don't get ready, they’re going to find themselves in a real difficult time staffing the workplace. It's like if they don't talk about it, it's not going to come," said Wayne Hochwarter, associate professor of management at Florida State University's College of Business.

6. Within 10 days after the Dec. 29 tsunami struck, several major credit card companies announced they would donate the revenue they made on tsunami relief offerings to certain charities. Has your credit company enacted that policy yet? Call and ask - even if you can't afford to make a donation right now.

7. Ask the owner of your favorite restaurant if he or she would consider holding a benefit dinner for your favorite charity.

8. Take five minutes a day to work on that long-overdue family disaster plan.  

9. Include your pets in that disaster plan. Thousands of people fail to evacuate in the face of disasters because they don’t want to leave their pets, reported the Humane Society of the United States.

10. Check the disaster-related clauses in your insurance policy.