Beginning on Friday night, Hurricane Harvey ravaged Texas, destroying an unimaginable amount of property and throwing many lives into danger. In Houston, Rockport, and other cities, the death toll continues to climb as Harvey progresses. Many students and teachers have direct connections who were affected, and the natural disaster has hit closer to home than ever before.

Organizations and individuals are trying to find ways to contribute aid. Here are places you can contribute to (and places you should be careful of).

Near Us:

At school, Westwood Student Council and SkillsUSA are collecting items (diapers, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, canned food, blankets, dry foods) in room E2214 until this Friday morning.

Round Rock ISD is accepting donations of new underwear, socks, and toiletries at the front of the Round Rock ISD Administrative Office (1311 Round Rock Ave), as well as at varsity football games through the end of September.

Local to Houston:

The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund was established by Houston mayor Sylvester Turner to directly aid flood victims.

Food banks are extremely important in distributing food items directly to those in need, especially in a time where many retail stores are inaccessible due to flooding. The Houston Food Bank and the Corpus Christi Food Bank need donations as well.

Many animals have been abandoned or lost in the destruction. The Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is accepting donations on their site.

The LGBTQ+ Disaster Relief Fund is organized by the Montrose Center, hoping to aid with short-term and long-term reparations and aid.

National Help:

AmeriCare, Salvation Army, and Direct Relief are all shipping medical supplies and other forms of help to victims in the affected areas.

Catholic Charities and Matthew 25: Ministries are religiously affiliated organizations providing personal care kits, shelter, food, and support to those from all religious backgrounds.

Focusing on children who have been affected by the natural disaster, Save the Children is setting up cribs in shelters and providing diapers and strollers to children.

GoFundMe has an entire page devoted to campaigns contributing to relieving Harvey’s impacts.

Helping with long-term effects and focusing on devoting funds to local organizations, Global Giving’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund is also accepting donations.

These are all organizations who are doing their best to help the victims of Harvey. However, many other “big name” organizations such as the American Red Cross may need to be reevaluated. Despite the Red Cross’ claims and goals of helping Hurricane Harvey victims and easy ways to donate such as texting “HARVEY” to 90999, its history with taking action in other natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina or the Haiti earthquake, is questionable. The Red Cross always receives donations of uncomparable amounts to other charities, yet it has been difficult to get a direct, quantifiable effect of that money going to aiding victims.

Charity Navigator, an organization that evaluates charities based on their Internal Revenue fillings, gave the Red Cross only two out of five stars on its financial performance. The Red Cross has also been highly criticized for is disorganization and inability to contribute direct help in crises like Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy.

So while you may wish to donate with a good intent in mind, it is important to consider what organizations are actually receiving your money and how they are using it. One thing’s for certain: the number of caring and positive thoughts is incredibly inspiring. It’s just crucial to make sure the kind intents are put into action.