Hurricane Harvey: Red Cross Blood Drive And How Ashburn Residents Can Help

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Even up here in Northern Virginia, there are myriad ways to assist the ongoing flooding crisis in southeast Texas — and now Louisiana — spawned by Hurricane Harvey. Long is the list of various relief organizations soliciting financial contributions, and many businesses are donating portions of proceeds to the effort. But there's one organization that's keenly wired-in to all disasters of this ilk, and that's the trusty security blanked otherwise known as the American Red Cross.

Toward that end, the organization is holding a blood drive 1-6 p.m. Friday at Manassas Mall, 8300 Sudley Road, in the community room next to Sears. Appointments are preferred but walk-ins certainly are welcome, as well. The Red Cross says that while all blood types are needed, there's a push for O negative and O positive blood. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. Also, like us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

If you can't make it to Manassas, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials say donating money or goods 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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Residents can start local food and clothing drives after checking with a verified disaster relief organization what is needed and how to collect donations. But a word of caution is in order. Namely, beware of 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.

Texas is a urging volunteers to not show up unexpectedly (unless you're part of the so-called Cajun Navy). Instead, try the following:

• 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.

The category 4 storm made landfall late Friday, damaging areas from Corpus Christi to San Antonio, Austin, Houston and all the way to Louisiana. Now classified as a tropical storm, Harvey's death toll as of Thursday morning had risen to more than 35, including a Houston police officer who drowned.

Houston is a sea of human misery after epic, unprecedented rains turned the city of 2.5 million into a rising swamp. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images News/Getty Images)