(Midday) August 29, 2005: FEMA: Cash Sought to Help Hurricane Victims, Volunteers Should Not Self-Dispatch

FEMA Director Michael Brown reports that voluntary organizations are seeking cash donations to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast states. However, Brown urges volunteers to not report directly to the affected areas unless directed by a voluntary agency: “We’re grateful for the outpouring of support already,” Brown says. “But it’s important that volunteer response is coordinated by the professionals who can direct volunteers with the appropriate skills to the hardest-hit areas where they are needed most. Self-dispatched volunteers and especially sightseers can put themselves and others in harm’s way and hamper rescue efforts.” However, “cash donations are especially helpful to victims. They allow volunteer agencies to issue cash vouchers to victims so they can meet their needs. Cash donations also allow agencies to avoid the labor-intensive need to store, sort, and pack and distribute donated goods. Donated money prevents, too, the prohibitive cost of air or sea transportation that donated goods require.” [Federal Emergency Management Agency, 8/29/2005]