When I was a kid, I had the good fortune to visit St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands more than once. They and other Caribbean islands have been badly affected by Hurricane Irma. In some places, nearly all of the housing is gone. Author Tobias Buckell put together this helpful list of local charities.
Click to donate to Caribbean charities.
I personally think local is the way to go in this case, but if you want to donate through larger, international organizations, please use Charity Navigator. Charity Navigator is a nonprofit site that functions like a Better Business Bureau for charities. I’m obsessed with this site because you can select the charities that make best use of your money (the ones with Charity Navigator’s 4-star rating) and easily donate to multiple charities in a single transaction. You can even add a little money to cover the processing fees in order to be sure that 100% of your donation goes to the causes you selected.
Click here to see Charity Navigator’s link to Irma-related charities.
Let’s hope that a miracle takes place and Florida doesn’t get hit as badly as expected. Very, very scary.