How To Help Families Impacted By Hurricane Ida Right Now

Families across Louisiana are grappling with the damage left behind by Hurricane Ida, which touched down early Sunday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane near Port Fourchon, just south of New Orleans. As the storm moved across Louisiana, pummeling towns with winds that ranged from 87 mph to 172 mph, and into Mississippi it was downgraded to a tropical storm by the National Hurricane Center in the pre-dawn hours Monday. As rescue and recovery efforts ramp up, there are a number of ways to help families impacted by Hurricane Ida.

No matter how far away from Louisiana you live, there are ways that you can make a real difference right now. From helping families with young children secure diapers and wipes to helping unhoused youth sheltering in place in New Orleans, donating to the various nonprofit groups currently working on the ground in Louisiana may be one of the best ways to provide immediate assistance to those in need.

How To Vet Organizations Working To Assist With Hurricane Ida Relief

Don’t let a fear of getting scammed prevent you from donating to disaster relief victims. While scammers often attempt to use natural disaster relief efforts like those getting underway in Louisiana as an opportunity to launch fraudulent fundraisers, there are a few quick and easy ways to ensure you’re donating to a valid organization.

Before sending money, research the organization or charity you’re looking to donate to on a site like Charity Navigator, Guidestar, or the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. These sites provide ratings of charities to better connect donors with trustworthy organizations to support. Charity Navigator also enables donors to donate to multiple charities at one time through their Giving Basket program.

Local Organizations Helping Hurricane Ida Victims

While national disaster relief organizations gear up to assist families impacted by Hurricane Ida, many organizations local to Louisiana are already on the ground providing much-needed help.

• Cajun Navy Relief is a registered 501(c)3 organization currently helping rescue stranded individuals and families. The organization also provides impacted people with vital supplies such as toiletries, water, canned food, cleaning supplies, and more. You can donate to Cajun Navy Relief through Paypal or learn how to volunteer in person or donate supplies directly through their website.
• The Junior League of New Orleans is currently working to collect period products, diapers, formula, and adult incontinence products through its diaper bank for those impacted by the hurricane. You can purchase things of the group’s Amazon wishlist or make a cash donation to their Disaster Relief Fund, all of which will go to impacted communities.
• Rebuilding Together New Orleans is one of the largest home rehabilitation non-profit organizations in the city and in the wake of Hurricane Ida, their work to help repair homes and revitalize communities will be more important than ever. While you can donate directly to Rebuilding Together’s Hurricane Ida fund, the organization also has an Amazon wishlist you can purchase off of.
• The Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) has activated its Disaster Response and Restoration Fund, which seeks to provide both immediate relief and longterm rebuilding help to those in need. Donations to the disaster response fund can be made through the GNOF website.

• While Imagine Water Works traditionally works in climate justice and water management, they’re also experienced in disaster readiness and response. In the wake of Hurricane Ida, they’ve launched a fund to support mutual aid recovery efforts led by locals, which you can donate to through their website.
• Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative, a woman-of-color-led grassroots collaborative comprised of people from Texas to Florida has launched a Mutual Aid and Rapid Response Fund. According to the organization, donations to the fund will be given directly to indigenous, black, and brown frontline people impacted by the hurricane.

Larger, National Organizations Helping Hurricane Ida Relief Efforts

• Founded by chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen has deployed to locations around the world to serve hot meals in the aftermath of disaster. Andrés and his team are already on the ground in Louisiana, having served dozens of meals to families around Houma on Monday. The organization has also been working to feed Afghan refugees following the Taliban’s takeover of the country. You can support their emergency response efforts by making a tax-deductible donation through their website.
• Save The Children is coordinating with national and state disaster response partners to asses children’s immediate needs in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Already, they are expected to provide essential child-care items to impacted families, including hygiene kits, diapers, wipes, and portable cribs. The nonprofit is also working to collaborate with education partners in Louisiana and Mississippi to restore child care and early learning centers damaged or otherwise impacted by the storm. You can help fund their efforts with a donation to Save the Children’s Hurricane Ida Children’s Relief Fund.
• During Hurricane Ida, Covenant House sheltered unhoused youth in its Covenant House New Orleans Care Center. Although the center lost power during the hurricane, the nonprofit is continuing to aid and care for unhoused young people in both its care center and Covenant House-supported apartments. Donations to Covenant House’s Hurricane Ida Response fund go toward continuing that effort.

• In times of crises, Airlink works with to assist with transportation of relief workers and emergency supplies — and they’ve already managed to fly more than a dozen responders into areas impacted by Hurricaine Ida. The organization has said it anticipates it will support rebuilding and recovery efforts in Louisiana for two years or more and will provide more than 500 flights for responders and recovery teams over that time. You can donate to their Hurricane Ida response efforts through their website.
• Founded in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the Houston-based CrowdSource Rescue seeks to connect professional first responders and vetted volunteer rescuers with those in need before, during, and after a natural disaster such as Hurricane Ida. CrowdSource Rescue accepts donations through a variety of ways, including CashApp, Paypal, and Zelle. Additionally, the organization is also seeking individuas who are able to volunteer to work as rescuers. You can find more information on how to donate or volunteer with CrowdSource Rescue on their website.
• Americares deployed an emergency response team to the Gulf Coast ahead of Hurricane Ida’s expected landfall to ensure their professional team of relief workers was ready to begin providing assistance as soon as possible. The non-profit also maintains an emergency pharmacy, enabling them to provide essential medicines, vaccines, and medical supplies in times of crisis. Donations to Americares will help them provide medicine and aid to those impacted by Hurricane Ida.
• Donations to The Partnership For Inclusive Disaster Strategies’ Disability and Disaster Hotline help fund the organization’s efforts to connect disaster-impacted disabled people with on-the-ground help and resources before, during, and after disaster strikes.

While this list is by no means a comprehensive list of every charity or nonprofit organization working to bring much-needed aid to families impacted by Hurricane Ida, it hopefully provides some ideas about ways in which you can help.