Help for Hurricane Victims

Through the Mississippi Homeschool Network Group PEAK. Here's the forward:

Parent Educators & Kids of Mississippi (PEAK) has been contacted by homeschoolers in multiple states who want to help homeschool families here who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. We are grateful for the offers of assistance, as we know there are homeschoolers who have lost their homes, who have fled their home towns, and who are facing tragedy.For those of you who want to help right now, we'd like to recommend that as a first response, please make a donation through the Red Cross at www.redcross.org or 1 800 HELP NOW or the Salvation Army at http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/ or 1 800 SAL ARMY. There is no substitute for financial donations that will allow the basic necessities of life for families -- water, food, shelter, and medical care. There are communities north of the Mississippi Gulf Coast where there are many refugees. If you want to make donations to a reliable locally-controlled hurricane relief fund, you may send checks designated for South Mississippi Hurricane Relief to Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, 321 Losher Street, Hernando, MS 38632. One hundred percent of monies donated will go to aid victims, including refugees who have fled to central and north Mississippi for shelter. You can visit their website at cfnm.org, although the website has not been updated to reflect the disaster relief fund. I (Jeanne) spoke with a representative of this foundation this morning to confirm their policies, and I was already aware they have an excellent reputation in our community and in the state. (The sister community foundation to this organization on the Gulf coast lost its office; while "Northwest Mississippi" does not sound very local to the crisis, it is serving refugees here and is one of the few community foundations that can function in the state because of the crisis. They are working in cooperation with a similar foundation in Jackson, MS, which also has a large number of evacuees.)Homeschoolers immediately think about the beloved books and homeschooling materials that families lost or do not have access to. To those who have offered to help collect books and learning materials to donate to homeschoolers, we encourage you to do so. However, most families are not in a position to resume homeschooling and will not be ready to do so for some time, as more basic needs of food, water, shelter, medical care, and finances are addressed. We recommend that homeschooling groups or individuals collect, organize, and make arrangements to temporarily box and store materials locally for now. Please take care to place materials in "shipping-worthy" boxes and consider organizing and labeling them by general ages and/or subject matter. Contributors may want to collect or raise funds for shipping and/or storage. We know that keeping these boxed materials in a church store room, community center, or home may be difficult, but keep in mind that the people we want to help cannot receive these supplies right now. At the same time, we know that while the crisis is so severe, people are very moved to help. We appreciate your compassion and generousity and do not wish to discourage donations of educational materials. We simply wish to be practical and organized in the midst of a very chaotic time. If you will stay in touch with us, we will let you know when and where to ship books and homeschooling materials once more basic needs have been met. PEAK organizers have committed that any undistributed usable materials that have been donated can be used to create a PEAK Resource Center in Mississippi or donated to other charities. In either case, the materials will be used for the benefit of those who have needs related to Hurricane Katrina. If you do want to send homeschooling materials immediately, you may send them to Project Noah, based in TX. They do help people in other states on a regular basis. It is a Christian organzation but will help ALL homeschoolers in need, and they do have experience in helping hurricane victims. I (Jeanne) spoke with one of the organizers this morning to confirm that they are still "current," work to help homeschoolers of a variety of backgrounds and faiths, and are ready to help.email: project.noah@gmail.comwebsite: http://www.projectnoah.org/Shipments should go to:PROJECT NOAH15807 Brickman Ct.Houston, TX 77084fax number is 281-225-4562The Gulf Coast states have been devastated by this disaster. We appreciate your thoughtful inquiries into helping our fellow homeschoolers, and we hope that these ideas are helpful to you as you plan your relief efforts.Very sincerely,Natalie Criss ncriss@peaknetwork.orgJeanne Faulconer Faulconjen@aol.com PEAK Mississippi Faciliators~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Parent Educators & Kids (PEAK) is an inclusive, non-affiliated network of homeschooling families across the state of Mississippi. Our purpose is to provide support for current and future home educators without regard to homeschool methodology, religious beliefs, political affiliation and lifestyle choices.Mississippi's First Homeschool Network:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peakgroupmsNatalie's Ramblings, Rants and Remedieshttp://nataliesnexus.blogspot.com/