• American Red Cross is the can be contacted at 401-831-7700 or get information at www.riredcross.org.
  
  You may want to begin by looking at their Frequently Asked Questions page: www.riredcross.org/gulfcoastfaqs.htm.
  
  For people looking to deploy down south for efforts, you must be Red Cross trained before they are able to send you. Go to  www.riredcross.org/katrina-volunteerdeployment.htm for a list of expectations.
  
• General Deployment to affected areas:  Individuals interested in volunteering affected areas in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi may visit www.1800volunteer.org and click on the state you would like to serve in.  No special training is needed.  Volunteer Centers are using the online system to place volunteers in areas determined by local Emergency Management offices.  Due to the heavy volume of requests, the Volunteer Centers ask for your patience as they identify and assign volunteers. 

        Questions you should ask the sponsoring agency if you  are interested in being deployed as a volunteer.

•  

  q      What is required of you before you are deployed - i.e. vaccinations, background checks, trainings, certifications, etc.?

  q      What type of training will be provided?

  q      What are the travel arrangements? Will you be responsible for your own travel costs?

  q      What are the housing arrangements?

  q      Will meals be provided and/or reimbursed?

  q      What type of clothing/equipment should you bring?

  q      What will your responsibilities be when you arrive on the work site?

  q      Who is your contact person when you arrive? Make sure to get their name and phone number before you leave.

  q      Put your emergency contact information into your cell phone as ICE ("In Case of Emergency")

  q      Will you be covered under the sponsoring agency's health and/or liability insurance or are you eligible for any temporary volunteer insurance? There are travel and volunteer insurance plans that you may want to look into. For more information, see http://www.cimaworld.com/htdocs/volunteers.cfm or http://www.totaltravelinsurance.com/
  

• In addition to helping the communities affected by Hurricane Katrina, you can also help the families of National Guard members who have been sent to the area or overseas. About 3,000 members have been deployed from the Southern New England area to the Gulf Coast and to Iraq. This leaves many families behind to struggle with the day-to-day needs and do everything on decreased pay. Operation Homefront helps these families find service providers (plumbers, mechanics, etc) and helps pay for them, and gives monetary gifts and gift cards to assist them while their loved one is away serving our country.
  
  Send gift cards (Wal-Mart, Target, Stop-n-Shop, Shaws, etc), food gift cards, and monetary donations to help pay for the service providers, home heating costs and the rising costs of gas to:
  
  Operation Homefront
  PO Box 97
  Shannock, RI 02875
  
  Or call 1-800-291-8565 with questions or additional offers of help.
  
  

• If you are looking for a loved one go to www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina or call 1-877-568-3317 (the website offers French and Spanish translations).
  
  
• The RI Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA) will be collecting money and items to be delivered to the Louisiana SPCA. Volunteers are also needed to help with this mission. Food, water, litter, grooming supplies and all variety of other items are needed - check out their web site, www.rispca.org for more details. Drop items off by Friday, September 23 at many locations around the state.
  
  
• www.projectstarfish.org is looking for people to temporarily foster animals or donate pet food, supplies or money. www.aspca.org and www.hsus.org are also helping in the support of displaced pets.
  
• United Methodist Committee on Relief is looking for Health Kits, Water and Blankets. They are accepting monetary donations for these kits or you can organize a group project and make these kits, please go to www.umcor.org and click on Emergency Health Kits for information on what is needed in the kit and how to send items.
  
  

We will be continually updating this list of ways that you can help with the Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts. Send announcements of efforts to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina to info@vcri.org or call 401-421-6547.