SAN ANTONIO — With Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath still impacting parts of Texas, many hard-hit communities still need help.

"What makes mankind stronger, people helping one another," said San Antonio resident Sandra Sivak.

  • FEMA cautions that used clothing is "rarely a useful item." Sorting through boxes of mixed clothing and cleaning then is very time-consuming.
  • Flooding leads to an increase in mosquito-borne illnesses. Some towns are reporting empty shelves of needed repellants and sprays.
  • $1 can be stretched to make 7 meals.
  • Volunteering is one of the most invaluable forms of donating.

How you can contribute depends on the organization, as they begin to narrow down what is needed the most.

"We got a whole bunch of water. A whole bunch of food and decided to come donate it. And, hopefully goes to a good cause and gets everybody taken care of," said owner of X Nation Auto Group, Xavier Asencio.

"We’ve seen a tremendous outpouring of support, but it is going to be a long-term effort," said communications director Susan Filyk with San Antonio Food Bank.

The San Antonio Food Bank went from collecting clothing, household items to car seats, but now they are focusing on food, monetary donations, and more volunteers.

"We’ve been helping the Houston Food Bank with some of their storage needs. We’re going to be helping to get them the product that their clients need and getting everything that’s coming into the right people at the right time and the right place," said Filyk.

Though victims need food and clothing, not all donations may meet the needs of the people in the disaster area. Right now the best thing to do is to give money.

"A dollar donation, we can stretch that into providing seven meals. And so, when you make a monetary donation, you’re really helping us to be very strategic and pinpoint the exact need of what the hurricane victims need," said Filyk.

"The message is we’re all praying for you and stay strong and we’re all going to come together and we’ll all get through this," said Asencio.

Also before giving, check with charity websites as needs may change frequently.

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