One local went to Louisiana for four days and helped hurricane victims housed in makeshift shelters.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
Malibu residents have jumped into action and are doing what they can to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Some are sending money and supplies, while one local man went to Louisiana to assist the victims. The hurricane has caused widespread devastation for millions of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama since the storm hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 26. There is not even an approximation of how many people were killed, injured or displaced, as more than half of New Orleans remains underwater. But many politicians are estimating the number of deaths to be in the thousands.
Matt Toledo, a Malibu resident who is the publisher of the Los Angeles Business Journal, flew out to Baton Rouge, La. last Wednesday night and spent four days through a Red Cross program helping people at the makeshift shelters that were setup at churches, high schools and community centers. Toledo served meals, set up cots and did whatever else needed to be done for the people staying at the shelters. He slept each night on a cement floor in the shelters.
“I feel incredibly blessed,” Toledo said. “I’m a Malibu resident. I knew I would only be there for a few days., but a lot of these people are going to be there for a long time. These people are in need of assistance. And I wanted to do all I could to help them while I was there.”
Many of the people at the Baton Rouge shelters had come from the poorest areas of New Orleans. Toledo said he was impressed how much people in the Baton Rouge community were willing to help those in need.
Toledo got to speak with many of the people at the shelters. He said one grandmother told him how she and her grandchildren were trying to survive on the second story of a home when the water rose within a 15-minute period nearly to the top. She took her grandchildren and went out the window. Suddenly, an empty boat floated by and they got on it. With their hands, they paddled to safety and were eventually rescued by a helicopter.
“Everybody had their story,” Toledo said. “There were many stories of survival.”
The publisher said there were some people staying at the shelters who were acting up and there was some tension. But he said nothing happened that was not manageable and he never felt vulnerable or unsafe.
Toledo decided to go to Louisiana on Wednesday morning last week after he woke up. He contacted the Red Cross about what he could do, and then went through a brief training session and flew out that night. Toledo said no one particular thing inspired him to go.
“I just felt like I got the call,” he said.
Others in the community got the call too.
The Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue is doing its part to help the hurricane victims by sending backpacks and school supplies to children who have been evacuated to Houston and will be attending school there. Also, they are creating toiletry packages for displaced persons in Houston. A list of needed supplies can be obtained by contacting 456.2178 or sending an e-mail to Lyn Ayal at ayalmalibu@hotmail.com. Items can be dropped off at MJC&S, which is located at 24855 Pacific Coast Highway. Additionally, MJC&S will be opening the doors of its schools to any children who might come to Los Angeles and need a religious school or preschool.
The Democratic Westside Coalition, of which the Malibu Democratic Club is a member, is receiving donations for hurricane recovery. Items and money can be taken to the headquarters at 1508 18 St. in Santa Monica.
While millions of Americans are trying to help the relief effort in any way they can, there are some who might use the situation as an opportunity for scams. Claudia Sangster, a Malibu resident who advises wealthy individuals on their charitable activities for the wealth management service, Harris myCFO, said people should check on the legitimacy of a charitable organization before donating to it. There are several Web sites where this can be done, including, www.guidestar.org, www.give.org and www.charitynavigator.org.
“The looting doesn’t just occur on the streets,” Sangster said. “It also occurs by scam artists who are trying to loot your pocket. Things like this [a hurricane] bring out the best and the worst of people.”
Sangster said it is always a good idea to donate directly to organizations like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and others, but giving to other groups raising money for aid can also be helpful if done the right way.
Sangster said often companies and other sources raising money do so as a way to raise matching funds from other groups; so donating to these causes will increase the amount of money going toward relief.
But she warned that people should make sure all the money is going toward the relief effort, and that no commission fee is being taken. Sangster said most organizations would not do that, but a person should ask to make sure.
Also, Sangster said, people should not donate to hurricane relief as a substitute for charities they normally support. Rather, she said, people should make their help for hurricane relief as an additional gift, or else the charities they normally support will be negatively affected.