Hurricane Ike has hit the Texas and Louisiana coastline with damage estimated into the billions of dollars. Local government agencies have released guidelines on how you can help Hurricane Ike evacuees relocating to North Texas and other locations seeking shelter from the hurricane.

Dallas and Fort Worth officials are asking that people interested in helping evacuees register to volunteer through the Volunteer Center of North Texas by calling 866-797-8268 or by registering on their website. The Volunteer Center says they need 400 people to volunteer on Monday.

Donations of money can be made to the North Texas Food Bank but they do not need food donations at this time.

The Salvation Army says monetary donations are needed to help fund expenses related to providing disaster relief for Hurricane Gustav evacuees and Hurricane Ike. Donations may be made by calling (800) SAL-ARMY or going to their website, but donated goods are not needed for the relief effort at this time.

Local Texas residents are asked not to drop donations at the Dallas Convention Center shelter location, and are being asked to not come to the Convention Center to offer volunteer assistance.

Donations of money can also be made to the Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.

A special note from the Red Cross urges people to help with monetary donations:

“As the Red Cross continues helping individuals and families battered by the 2008 storms and hurricanes, a national fundraising campaign has been launched to raise an initial $100 million to fill a Disaster Relief Fund depleted after an active year of disasters.  The Disaster Relief Fund allows the Red Cross to provide emergency assistance to help victims of disasters meet their immediate needs for food, shelter, counseling and other critical services.

You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Hurricanes of 2008, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.  You can log-on to www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) to make a donation.  You can also use your cell phone to donate $5 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by text messaging the keyword “GIVE” to “2HELP” (24357). You can send multiple donations depending on your carrier. Contributions will appear on monthly bills or be debited from a prepaid account balance. All applicable text rates apply.”

Update: Hurricane Ike Evacuees – How to Get Assistance:

If you or your loved ones are in the potentially affected areas, register yourself on the Red Cross Safe and Well Website at http://www.redcross.org, or call a loved one and ask them to register you. The Red Cross provides this online tool to help families and individuals notify loved ones that they are safe during an emergency, which can help bring peace of mind in challenging times.

The Safe and Well website is easy to use:

1. Visit http://www.redcross.org, and click on the Safe and Well link
2. If you are currently being affected by these disasters, click: “List Myself as Safe and Well,” enter your pre-disaster address and phone number, and select any of the standard message options
3. If you are concerned about a loved one, click “Search” and enter the person’s name and pre-disaster phone number or address. If they have registered, you will be able to view the messages that they posted
4. If you don’t have internet access, you can call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800- 733-2767) to register yourself and your family. Follow the prompts for disaster information.

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How You Can Help Hurricane Gustav Evacuees

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