The category 4 hurricane that slammed Houston, resulting in days of rain that’s proving just as destructive as the initial storm has left thousands of people in need. Harvey has also transformed everyday citizens into heroes and activists and tested the scope and efficiency of aid workers and charities.
Delivering Good has been answering the call of the needy and displaced since 1985, supplying new donated clothes, shoes and personal care items in underserved and disaster-ridden areas. The charity is again marshalling its resources to answer the needs in the Gulf Coast, and they’re asking for help from the industry to collect enough merchandise to assist everyone living without basic necessities.
[Read more about how Harvey is affecting businesses in the area: Hurricane Harvey to Result in $1 Billion in Lost Sales at Retail]
“We believe that there will be a large number of people displaced from the storm damage and the flooding that is expected to continue through this week,” said Delivering Good chairman Allan Ellinger. “We are asking the industry to provide us with new products, as they have in so many disasters we have responded to in the past. Consumers can help us with financial donations to help defray the costs of shipping the donations to the affected areas.”
The charity is asking specifically for men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, including underwear and socks; towels, sheets, blankets, comforters and pillows; and toothbrushes, wash cloths and personal care items.
Delivering Good is already receiving Skechers shoes, portable cribs from Delta Children and denim from Jade Marketing Group, and the AAFA and other trade groups have stepped up to help with aid.
Companies and individuals who want to donate product or money should visit the organization’s disaster relief portal on the Delivering Good website.
Houston area officials are already warning that there is no way to measure the scope of the destruction from hurricane Harvey at this point as cities in the region continue to flood from rain, overflowing rivers and maxed out reservoirs.
Even once the rain stops, Gov. Greg Abbott said, “We need to recognize it will be a new normal, a new and different normal for this entire region.”
In the wake of hurricane Katrina in 2005, Fashion Delivers and Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.), which have since combined as Delivering Good, distributed $16.5 million in product donations to community nonprofits.