Katrina help local

I am writing to all my friends and family . I am so heartbroken by the poor images i have seen on t.v and the news from the aftermath of hurricane Katrina . I am asking, if at all possible find someway to give back God has been good to me and my family and we have been blessed . I keep asking myself what if it was us .. My kids have a money drive going on at school i am gonna donate . I also want to get a stuffed animal drive and needed items for adults . like deodarant , etc. I know there will be over 2,000 arriving here in st loius from hurricane Katrina . I cant imagine going from a home, security . to having everything litterly ripped apart and gone . And most important not knowing where my family is .. I ask that you pass this along to everyone you know . The power of Prayer is remarkable . And if you arent able to donate then give the gift of prayer or possibly blood . . Most important thing to remember is people are in need Gods people so we must all pull together . some people have been left w/o anyone . We may be all they have . So i ask at this time once again please in some way give ... If at any way you can get your school , church , involved then please do . Keep these people in your Prayers . and it always feels better to give than to recieve .. thanks for your time please pass this on . and say a short prayer the power of prayer will be REACHING MANY BY THE END OF JUST 1 DAY .. Thank you Sherri Bennett iF ANYONE CAN HELP ME I WANT TO GET A LOCAL COLLECTION OF PERSONAL ITEMS TOGETHER TO DELIVER TO THE 2,000 people that will be arriving here in our area . Can someone please help me w/ some info or suggestions to what i can do . I am gonna try to go thru school system , but anyone whom can help please let me know thank you

If you can use a not for profit organization, like a church or the Red Cross, as the funneling agency, then places like Wal-mart and major drug stores will probably donate if they can get a tax-deduction letter. Wal-mart regularly donates to non-profit orgs. Every year our church does a Couples Retreat. A lady in our church calls every store, restaurant, etc. in town and gets scads of things donated like free gift certificates to eat, etc. Then they give them away as door prizes. The key is that the donation is made to the church and then the church gives it to the couples. I would think the same thing could work for this endeavor and a double blessing would be if your church would throw in a Bible for each of the victims and/or a Christian book. There's so much you could do. If it's in the name of the church then that's also a very good draw for people to attend your church. Kind-of like a servant evangelism project. Good luck with your endeavor.