Anne Arundel Schools Launch #HelpHouston Hurricane Relief Drive

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Anne Arundel County leaders have launched a couple of efforts to help channel donations to the recovery effort in Texas following Hurricane Harvey. County and Red Cross leaders hosted a Facebook Live event Thursday afternoon to encourage donations, and Anne Arundel County Public Schools announced a donation drive to run throughout September.

The category 4 storm made landfall late Friday, damaging areas from Corpus Christi to San Antonio, Austin, Houston and all the way to the Louisiana state line. Now classified as a tropical storm, Harvey's death toll has reached at least 39, which includes a Houston police officer who drowned.

Superintendent George Arlotto on Thursday announced the launch of the #HelpHouston campaign to raise at least $200,000 for Houston Independent School District students and their families. Anne Arundel students can take donations to their schools when classes begin Sept. 5, and parents can drop off donations at Back To School events or at any other time. The campaign runs through Sept. 30.

Some Of The Many Ways You Can Help Harvey Victims

Checks should be made out to Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ 21st Century Education Foundation with the notation HelpHouston in the memo line, and online donations can be made at www.aacps.org/helphouston.

“We are an incredibly caring community that rises to meet needs time and time again,” Arlotto said in a news release. “If every child in our school system brought one dollar to school next week, we would be more than one-third of the way to the goal, so I have no doubt that we will meet and even exceed our target.”

All donations will go to the Houston Independent School District Foundation so that it can be distributed to the district’s students and their families as needed.

County Executive Steve Schuh and officials from Red Cross of the Greater Chesapeake Region hosted a Facebook live event to encourage county employees and other citizens to donate to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The Facebook event began at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Or viewers can also watch the event after its initial Facebook broadcast at www.facebook.com/myannearundel. Red Cross officials shared ways area residents can help Hurricane Harvey victims in Texas and Louisiana.

SEE ALSO: Harvey: More SE Texas Cities Under Water, Hospital Evacs, More Death And Destruction

So what's the best way to help?

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials say donating to a trusted charitable group can ensure contributions go where they're needed.

You can drop off donations with your local charity, but don't go before checking what's needed first. FEMA urges donors to not drop off used clothing, random household items, medicine or perishable food at this time. This means staff would turn some attention away from the hurricane survivors to sort through the items.

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SEE ALSO:

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• Hurricane Harvey: Fairfax County Rescue Team Assists In Texas

Residents can start local food and clothing drives after checking with a verified disaster relief organization what is needed and how to collect donations.

Unfortunately, with all of the good people wanting to help, there are scammers. Officials offer the following tips when making donations:

• Do not respond to spam incoming emails or click on links contained in the messages.
• Do not assume everyone stating they are hurricane survivors or officials are always who they say. They may ask for donations via email or social media.
• Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by using online resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status, rather than following a link to the site.
• Be cautious of emails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
• Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than allowing others to make the donation on your behalf.
• Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions. Providing this information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
• If you are solicited by a charity, don’t feel rushed or pressured into making an immediate commitment. Ask the caller or solicitor to provide written information about the charity’s programs and finances before you make a contribution.

The state of Texas is also urging volunteers to not show up unexpectedly. Those that would like to volunteer can contact the following organizations:

• American Red Cross 1-800-HELP-NOW
• The United Way, 1-800-272-4630
• National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
• Texas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster

However, Texas code allows currently employed, licensed health care officials from other states to practice in Texas until the emergency ends. Hospitals must submit to the applicable licensing entity the provider’s name, provider type, state of license and license identification number.

Houston received unprecedented rains turned the city of 2.5 million into a rising swamp. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images News/Getty Images)