29 September 2009

The NYC Response to the Floods in the Philippines

In the past 48 hours, I have received several invitations to do something (e.g., go to a concert, donate clothes, give money, attend a meeting, etc.) to help the flood victims of Tropical Storm Ketsana. The response has been nothing but phenomenal, and those who have responded should be commended for their actions. However, I have to be honest... the massive and largely uncoordinated response has been a bit dizzying.

To help everyone who is trying to figure out how they might help, I am posting a list of events and activities related to flood relief assistance:

This list will be updated periodically. Please let me know if you would like anything added/modified. Thank you to all those who contributed information to this blog.


For those of you who want to do something else to help flood victims, I urge you to ask yourself the following questions:
  • How many more activities/events can the community support before the number of people and resources are fully taxed? Am I planning something that will interfere with another event or activity already planned? Are we overloading the community with so many events that we end up causing more apathy?
     
  • Will I truly add value with what I plan to do, or am I duplicating someone else's efforts? Can I share costs by partnering with someone else? 
     
  • Would I add more value by helping some other person or group instead of doing something on my own? Can we create fewer larger events that engender a sense of community and inclusiveness instead of smaller events that may discourage attendees?  Can we do something that will show how the Filipino American community can create positive change through collaboration (rather than divisiveness)?
     
  • Have I given thought to what it is that I am donating? Would cash be better?
     
  • After the flood victims have been taken care of, what will I do to help prevent a major flood disaster from happening again? Can I do something about deforestation, urban planning, and/or global warming to minimize the effects of future tropical storms?
Believe me, I am not trying to stop anyone from helping flood victims. However, some thoughtfulness and planning can go a long way in determining how best to help our kababayan in the Philippines
Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

3 comments:

  1. tenticketthrillSeptember 29, 2009 at 6:06 PM

    Here's more:

    http://bayanihan4ondoy.wordpress.com/

    http://firenyc.org/

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 30, 2009 at 1:58 PM

    October 11 Lakad Tulong Walkathon in Jersey City, NJ has been in the works for several weeks to build funds for calamities like these so that NYC response time with financial aid will be a matter of hours and not weeks. Help build the fund. Support the relief efforts for victims of Tropical Storm Ondoy. Here's the information:

    http://www.walk-lakadtulong.org/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonder MarqOctober 1, 2009 at 12:19 PM

    this is really great marc and really appreciate it. there needs to be some organization now before things get out of control with the fundraisers. i dont mean that in a bad way. like u said would be better to collaborate and reach a bigger crowd. i feel like a committee for this needs to be organized for the ny/nj area soon. and an offical website with a calendar of events, legit charities, list of organizers, a forum for people to collaborate, etc. i would so do this, but i have too much on my plate to take the lead, but i am more than willing to be part of it and help develop this.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)