New guide for how to help following a major disaster

Howard Lake | 4 June 2006 | News

• Tagged with:
• Giving/Philanthropy

The Government has published a new guide for people who want to help those affected by major disasters.

The new booklet, published by the Department for International Development (DfID) to coincide with the beginning of Volunteers’ Week, has been produced following the public response to disasters such as the Indonesian earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Pakistan earthquake and the Asian tsunami.

Too many people, it seems, were left feeling “powerless and unsure of how best to contribute to the large-scale relief efforts”. The guide explains that by donating money, organising a fundraising activity or volunteering to work for a charity we can all help to save lives.

The booklet includes a range of tips on how best to help including giving money not clothes so charities can buy the right goods locally, volunteering in the UK on donation phone lines or by working in a charity shop and organising fundraising events.

Supporters are also encouraged to check charity websites for updates.

Copies of the guide can be downloaded from the DfID website.

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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.