INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Leave the canned goods at home.

The American Red Cross Indiana for Greater Indianapolis says financial donations, volunteers, and blood donations are what’s needed the most after Hurricane Helene made landfall Sept. 26 and as Hurricane Milton approached Wednesday.

Isis Chaverri, a regional communications director for the Red Cross, said Wednesday, “The Red Cross right now is responding to two simultaneous hurricanes back to back. Hoosiers can help by making financial donations because critical needs can change depending on the disaster.”

“Ninety cents of every dollar goes toward helping those affected by disasters.”

Financial donations to the Red Cross can be made specifically to relief efforts for Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Helene or both.

Some of the money is used for food, tarps, or comfort kits. The kits contain hygiene items such as toothbrushes, deodorant, tissues; they cost about $2.50 to make.

The Red Cross has opened evacuation shelters in Florida as Milton approaches.

“Those (Milton) donations will help provide a safe shelters, a hot meal, comfort kits to provide some level of normalcy or comfort despite the situation.”

Aside from financial donations, the Red Cross has deployed volunteers in vans into hard-hit areas. The vans are filled with supplies that will be delivered to people who need it the most.

Denny Moss and his wife, Bonnie Moss, are volunteers from Cass County. They were being deployed for the first time and will make that long drive to Florida. “Sixty Hoosiers, I was told, were already in the Southeast; lots of Hoosiers stepping up to help the people,” he said.

Bonnie said, “Your heart goes out to them knowing they lost everything and they don’t have anything to go back home to.”

Danny said, “A lot of people without power from Helene, and now you’ve got another storm coming in/ It’s going to be rough.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends financial donations to reputable organizations including the Red Cross.

FEMA also has warned people people not to “self-deploy” to disaster areas but rather to connect to specific organizations so they can provide training, and safety and survival skills.

News release

“Indianapolis, IN — As the nation prepares for the impact of another hurricane, the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) has curated a list of vetted organizations through which residents can donate to disaster aid and relief efforts. This list, available at www.cicf.org/disaster-relief/, includes trusted not-for-profits and community foundations working to provide aid to hurricane-affected areas.

“‘We want to empower Central Indiana residents to support communities affected by these hurricanes in the most effective way possible,’ said Jennifer Bartenbach, CEO of CICF. ‘Philanthropy allows people to contribute, even when they’re miles away from an affected area. Our role is to ensure that their contributions make the biggest positive difference.’

“CICF’s Recommended Organizations for Disaster Aid and Relief:

• American Red Cross – Hurricane Helene Red Cross Response
• Central Carolina Community Foundation – One SC Fund
• Collaboratory – SWFL Emergency Relief Fund 
• Community Foundation of North Florida – Disaster Relief fund
• Community Foundation of Western Carolina
• Gulf Coast Community Foundation – Rapid Response Fund
• Red Cross of North Carolina – Hurricane Helene Red Cross Response
• United Way of North Carolina – UWHelpsNC Helene Recovery Fund
• United Way of Greenville  – Community Relief Fund 

“In addition to maintaining and updating this resource, CICF is communicating with other organizations and foundations that have activated their disaster relief funds. By offering this list of trusted organizations, CICF aims to support and guide residents in their charitable efforts to ensure donations from Central Indiana reach those in need.

“For more information on how you can contribute to hurricane relief, visit www.cicf.org/disaster-relief/ or contact the Central Indiana Community Foundation directly at 317-634-2423.”

Central Indiana Community Foundation