Community Forums

Bigd9 · 08-28-2017, 11:26 AM

First I hope all of you in the path of this storm are safe and sound.

Now that news of this terrible storm is all in the headlines, people of this beautiful country will want to help. Help is needed BUT please do it in a responsible way. There are a lot of scams out there trying to part you from your money, so please be careful. Here are a couple Do's and Dont's from my experiences working in disaster areas.

Do volunteer your services, BUT don't just show up. If you do show up you may be turned away since it is impossible to distinguish between the good guys and the crooks. Volunteer with a national organization. They will have the needed support structure in place to be able to actually help. I saw many great church groups, civic organizations as well as national organizations helping during past disasters. They know how to do it right.

Do donate money and clothing. Don't dump clothing in a clothing drive, hire a tractor trailer truck and drive it down there. Donate it to a recognized organization that can actually distribute the clothing. During Hurricane Katrina aftermath, I saw truckloads of clothing just dumped on the ground because there just wasn't any place to put it! Rain, humidity, people, wild animals made those heaping mounds of used clothing worthless. Make sure the donations are responsibility housed, transported, stored in a warehouse and distributed. Otherwise, the donations can become just another pile of garbage to be hauled to a landfill. Warehouse space is very limited after a major storm. It takes an experienced organization to know how to help responsibly.

Money is by far the best way to help. Many responsible organizations will help affected people using your donations sensibly. With money an organization can by a hammer, or diapers, or shoes of the correct sizes, or food. When truckloads of "things" arrive, someone has to sort, store, and distribute. That is a much much harder job than buying what is needed. Each area will have different needs, therefore money is such a good help.

Here is a link to a really good USA article about helping.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...vey/603879001/

God bless this nation, and especially those who are adversely affected by this disaster.

powerboatr · 08-28-2017, 11:29 AM

Many of our friends and families in Texas have been devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Two Camping World locations, in Houston and San Antonio, are experiencing first-hand the impact of the storm. We want to assist members of these communities and have created the following efforts.

Beginning today, all Camping World SuperCenters are collecting new or gently used clothing for adults and children to send to the affected areas. Pants, shirts, shoes, shorts, jackets…all types of clothing are needed. We will ensure that all donated clothing is transported and distributed to those in need as soon as possible.

In addition, we will be taking donations for the American Red Cross. Camping World will MATCH total contributions up to 2 million dollars. You give $10, we give $10. All donations received at any Camping World SuperCenters now through Labor Day will qualify for the match.

If you would like to help, please visit www.CampingWorld.com/stores to find a SuperCenter near you. We hope you will join us in helping the victims of this devastating storm.

Marcus Lemonis
Chairman of Camping World Holdings