How you can help Hurricane Dorian victims

This aerial photo provided by Medic Corps, shows the destruction brought by Hurricane Dorian on Man-o-War Cay, Bahamas, Tuesday, Sept.3, 2019. Relief officials reported scenes of utter ruin in parts of the Bahamas and rushed to deal with an unfolding humanitarian crisis in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, the most powerful storm on record ever to hit the islands. (Medic Corps via AP)

Hurricane Dorian battered the Bahamas and is heading toward the U.S. WTOP listeners and readers have several options for helping out those affected by the storm:

The Red Cross is always doing work in storm-battered areas, and it could use help right now. There are a few ways you can direct your money on Red Cross donation page; Hurricane Dorian is one of them. You can give blood, which the Red Cross anticipates it will need. You can go to redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to find out where and how you can donate.

D.C. celebrity chef Jose Andres is ready to help out by cooking food for storm-stricken areas in the Bahamas once the danger has passed. His World Central Kitchen has been helping everyone from storm victims to furloughed feds for years.

Project Hope, a Virginia-based nonprofit group that sends medical professionals to disasters around the world, is sending a team to the Bahamas.

Direct Relief primarily focuses on medical supplies, and it has set up caches of medicine across the Caribbean and southeastern U.S. You can specify that your donation go to Hurricane Dorian relief.

Team Rubicon is a nonprofit composed of American military veterans dedicated to helping out in underserved areas hit by catastrophe; you can specify that your money goes to Dorian relief.

Water Mission is dedicated specifically to making sure people have safe water after a storm. You can pick Hurricane Dorian relief as a specific target for your donation.

Catholic Relief Services, based in Baltimore, is coordinating the delivery of supplies to the Bahamas. Their Dorian-specific donation page is here.

ADRA is a relief organization run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church helping in the Bahamas.

Community Organized Relief Effort is a partner of Andres’ World Central Kitchen and is deploying a disaster response team. You can also donate directly to their Dorian-related efforts.

You can find a list of charities that are helping out at Charity Navigator, along with their Guidestar ratings. The Better Business Bureau also has a website to check out various organizations.

In Maryland, the secretary of state registers and monitors charitable organizations. In Virginia, the Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs keeps tabs on organizations soliciting contributions.

Eric Friedman, the director of Montgomery County’s Office of Consumer Protection, told WTOP that you shouldn’t feel guilty about doing some homework and being a little skeptical before donating to various efforts.

Rescue teams from Maryland and Virginia, including the Fairfax County-based Virginia Task Force One and Montgomery County-based Maryland Task Force One, were activated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency last week, and are in Florida to help with rescues and resources.

WTOP’s Abigail Constantino, Alejandro Alvarez and Michelle Basch contributed to this report.

Rick Massimo

Rick Massimo came to WTOP, and to Washington, in 2013 after having lived in Providence, R.I., since he was a child. He's the author of "A Walking Tour of the Georgetown Set" and "I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival."

A group of friends gather along the Halifax harbor as winds from Hurricane Dorian hit Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Waves crash into boats long the waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia as hurricane Dorian approaches on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. Weather forecasters say Hurricane Dorian is picking up strength as it approaches Canada. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press via AP)
A home damaged by Hurricane Dorian is surrounded by debris in Eastern Shores just outside of Marsh Harbor, Abaco Island, Bahamas, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. The Bahamian health ministry said helicopters and boats are on the way to help people in affected areas, though officials warned of delays because of severe flooding and limited access. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
An unidentified man raises his arms in the winds from Hurricane Dorian along the Halifax harbor in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press via AP)
A tornado caused by Hurricane Dorian ripped through Little River, South Carolina. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
A downed tree in Little River, South Carolina, after a tornado caused by Hurricane Dorian ripped through the neighborhood. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
A tornado touched down in the The Farm at Brunswick County in Carolina Shores, N.C. on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, damaging homes ahead of Hurricane Dorian’s arrival. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP)
Mike Rogers takes a photo of the storm surge from Hurricane Dorian that blocks Cedar Island off from the mainland on NC 12 in Atlantic, N.C., after Hurricane Dorian past the coast on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Tom Copeland)
Storm surge from Hurricane Dorian blocks Cedar Island off from the mainland on NC 12 in Atlantic, N.C., after Hurricane Dorian past the coast on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Tom Copeland)
Hyatt Busbey gets a view of the ocean and sound as Hurricane Dorian passes over Hatteras Island on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 in Buxton, N.C. A weakened Hurricane Dorian flooded homes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Friday with a ferocity that seemed to take storm-hardened residents by surprise. (Steve Earley/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
New images from the North Carolina Department of Transportation show road flooding in Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island after Hurricane Dorian made landfall Friday morning.
New images from the North Carolina Department of Transportation show road flooding in Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island after Hurricane Dorian made landfall Friday morning.
Power company lineman work to restore power after a tornado hit Emerald Isle N.C. as Hurricane Dorian moved up the East coast on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2018.
William Ellinge, of Murrells Inlet, S.C., takes photos of waves crashing on the shore in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, as Hurricane Dorian moves north off the coast.
An Isle of Palms resident clears the drain on Hartnett Blvd. during Hurricane Dorian at the Isle of Palms, S.C., Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, in Charleston, S.C.
Horry County Fire Rescue walk through flood waters checking a neighborhood in Little River, near North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, as Hurricane Dorian moves north off the coast.
Bill Bailey, assistant chief of the Emerald Isle Police Department, walks past a damaged trailer in the Holiday Trav-l Park on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, in Emerald Isle, N.C, after a possible tornado generated by Hurricane Dorian struck the area.
Power company lineman work to restore power after a tornado hit Emerald Isle, N.C. as Hurricane Dorian moved up the East coast on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.
Heavy rain and wind move through Charleston, S.C. on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Hurricane Dorian raked the coastal Carolinas with howling, window-rattling winds and sideways rain Thursday, spinning off tornadoes and knocking out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses as it pushed northward toward the dangerously exposed Outer Banks.
Emerald Isle town employees work to clear the road after a tornado hit Emerald Isle N.C. as Hurricane Dorian moved up the East coast on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019.
Police close the bridge to Wrightsville Beach, N.C., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. The island is under a mandatory evacuation as Hurricane Dorian nears.
Boats are removed from the water at Winters Yachts in Swansboro N.C. as Hurricane Dorian moves up the East coast on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Tom Copeland)
Large waves crashed onto the beach of Tybee Island, Ga., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019 as Hurricane Dorian moved closer to the Georgia coast. (Casey Jones/Savannah Morning News via AP)
Andrew Parker watches the latest on Hurricane Dorian from the bar at Huc-A-Poos pizza restaurant, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, in Tybee Island, Ga. Parker said he’s been through eight hurricanes in his lifetime as a resident of Tybee. And like the others Parker said he plans on riding Dorian out at his home on the island. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)
Jen Fabrick, left, and Anne Herring, right, walk through flood waters covering St. Mary’s Street at Langs Marina near their homes while Hurricane Dorian passes by on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, in St. Mary’s, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Dora Corso sits with all her belongings in the hallway of the North Myrtle Beach High School in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Wednesday Sept. 4, 2019. Corso was evacuated from the beach front resort where she was living to the Red Cross shelter and has no plans for where to go after the storm passes. Residents of North Myrtle Beach are awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Dorian later today and through Thursday. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP)
The sun sets over Lake Eustis in Tavares, Fla., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. By Wednesday, Hurricane Dorian was pushing northward a relatively safe distance off the Florida coastline with reduced but still-dangerous 110 mph (175 kph) winds. An estimated 3 million people in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were warned to clear out, and highways leading inland were turned into one-way evacuation routes. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Chris Creel, manager of Piggly Wiggly, stocks pallets of bottled water as grocery customers prepare for the arrival of storm weather with Hurricane Dorian in New Bern, N.C., Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2019. New Bern is still recovering from the damages caused by Hurricane Florence in 2018. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP)
US Army National Guard Pvt. Christopher Zambuto, left, and Specialist Jermaris Hamilton assemble cots in a shelter for Hurricane Dorian evacuees inside the old Sears location at Northgate Mall, on Wednesday, Sep. 4, 2019, in Durham, NC. (Casey Toth/The News & Observer via AP)
Rains and wind pelt Charleston, S.C., early on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, as Hurricane Dorian enters the area. Hurricane Dorian has begun raking the Southeast U.S. seaboard, threatening to inundate low-lying coasts from Georgia to southwest Virginia with a dangerous storm surge after its deadly mauling of the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
A customer walks out of The Tidal Market III convenience store in Wilmington, N.C, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. Hurricane Dorian was expected to brush just off the coast of the area (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Police close the bridge to Wrightsville Beach, N.C., on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. The island is under a mandatory evacuation as Hurricane Dorian nears. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
George Raspberry, of R&S Masonry and Justin Martin, of Local Builders, work to install plywood panels on a house at the 600-block of Pollock Street in historic New Bern, N.C., September 4, 2019. Residents are preparing for storm weather before the reported arrival of Hurricane Dorian. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP)
Justin Martin, of Local Builders, and George Raspberry, of R&S Masonry, install plywood panels on a house in historic New Bern, N.C., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. Residents are preparing for storm weather before the reported arrival of Hurricane Dorian. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP)
U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham thanks U.S. Coast Guard officials for their work on Hurricane Dorian preparedness from at their operations center in North Charleston on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
Large waves crashed onto the beach of Tybee Island, Ga., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019 as Hurricane Dorian moved closer to the Georgia coast. (Casey Jones/Savannah Morning News via AP)
Resident Bob Medvey loads filled sandbags from a sand pile provided by the City of New Bern at the corner of South Front and Craven streets in historic downtown New Bern, N.C., September 4, 2019. Business and residents can fill sandbags to help prevent potential flood damage with the reported arrival of Hurricane Dorian along the North Carolina coast. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP)
Boats are removed from the water at Winters Yachts in Swansboro N.C. as Hurricane Dorian moves up the East coast on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Tom Copeland)
Ryan Smith, 60, left, and Hiram Williams, 71, stock an auditorium with goods slated to be sent to the Bahamas at Christ Episcopal Church in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. South Florida residents spared from Hurricane Dorian’s wrath are donating relief supplies to relatives in the Bahamas. Droves of Floridians turned out Tuesday to share cans of food, water bottles and boxes of diapers. (AP Photo/Ellis Rua)
Volunteers Sanai Clark, 14, and Elliot Mirutil, 7, bring items to be donated to the Bahamas at Christ Episcopal Church in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. In the wake of Hurricane Dorian, the church has organized items to be sent to the island nation via seaplane. (AP Photo/Ellis Rua)
Volunteers Jazz Williams, 29, left, and Jodye Scavella, 47, organize donated goods for those affected by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, at Christ Episcopal Church in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. Members of two historically black churches are sorting and preparing the supplies to be flown to the hurricane-ravaged islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama. (AP Photo/Ellis Rua)
People walk the shoreline of Juno Beach near the pier under high gust winds as Hurricane Dorian crawls toward Florida while the Category 4 storm continues to ravage the Bahamas on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP)
Surfers take advantage of waves at Anglin’s Fishing Pier in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Fla., Monday, Sept. 2, 2019, as Hurricane Dorian crawls toward Florida, while the storm continues to ravage the Bahamas. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP)
Brandon Ennis runs away from waves caused by Hurricane Dorian crashing over the jetty of the Jupiter inlet, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, in Jupiter, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Three men walk near the beach as Hurricane Dorian approaches September 3, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The slow-moving Dorian, which has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm after battering the Bahamas for more than a day, is expected to veer north-northwest, skimming the coast of Florida later today and overnight, according to weather reports. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Vacationer Patti Riter of Whitesboro, New York secures her umbrella as a squall moves in caused by the approach of Hurricane Dorian September 3, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The slow-moving Dorian, which has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm after battering the Bahamas for more than a day, is expected to veer north-northwest, skimming the coast of Florida later today and overnight, according to weather reports. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Heavy surf caused by the approach of Hurricane Dorian pounds the boardwalk September 3, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The slow-moving Dorian, which has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm after battering the Bahamas for more than a day, is expected to veer north-northwest, skimming the coast of Florida later today and overnight, according to weather reports. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
A woman seeks cover from wind, blowing sand and rain whipped up by Hurricane Dorian as she walks on the beach on September 2, 2019 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Dorian, once expected to make landfall near Cocoa Beach as a category 4 storm, is currently predicted to turn north and stay off the Florida coast, lessening the impact on the area. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A line of people board a charter bus at Savannah’s Civic Center to an inland shelter as residents evacuate from Hurricane Dorian, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, in Savannah, Ga. (Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News via AP)
A swimmer takes advantage of big waves during high tide as Hurricane Dorian churns offshore on September 3, 2019 in Indialantic, Florida. The massive, slow-moving hurricane which devastated parts of the Bahamas with 110 mph winds and heavy rains is expected to now head northwest and travel parallel to Florida’s eastern coast, according to the National Weather Service. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Resident and business owner Karen Kelly takes some time off to experience the heavy surf in advance of Hurricane Dorian, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, in Tybee Island, Ga. The state issued a mandatory evacuation along the coast of Georgia on Sunday well before the storm’s expected arrival. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)
Juna Beach residents Anneka, 8, left, and sister, Breanna, 10, right, along with their mother, Leah Hanza, center, get a close look of the waves crashing against the Juno Beach Pier as Hurricane Dorian crawls toward Florida after it ravaged the Bahamas on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP)
Most residents of Palm Beach Island had evacuated their oceanfront properties by Tuesday morning. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Palm Beach Island looking deserted Tuesday morning. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Gray skies are seen on Palm Beach Island. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)
Two men observe a squall caused by Hurricane Dorian which is looming in the Atlantic Ocean, on Sept. 3, 2019 in Ormond Beach, Florida. Dorian, once expected to make landfall along the Florida coast as a category 4 storm, is currently predicted to turn north and stay off the Florida coast, lessening the impact on the area. Dorian strengthened to a “catastrophic” Category 5 storm, packing winds of 175 mph and bearing down on the northern Bahamas before an expected turn to the north along the eastern seaboard of the United States, according to weather forecasts. (Getty Images/Mark Wilson)
Visitors gather on the beach during high tide as Hurricane Dorian churns offshore on September 3, 2019 in Indialantic, Florida. The massive, slow-moving hurricane which devastated parts of the Bahamas with 110 mph winds and heavy rains is expected to now head northwest and travel parallel to Florida’s eastern coast, according to the National Weather Service. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
People take photos as the sun rises over a nearly-empty beach as Hurricane Dorian lingers offshore on Sept. 3, 2019 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The massive, slow-moving hurricane which devastated parts of the Bahamas and once was predicted to make landfall near Cocoa Beach, is now expected to stay off the Florida coast. (Getty Images/Scott Olson)
A beach goer climbs the stairs near the Juno Beach Pier as Hurricane Dorian crawls toward Florida while the storm continues to ravage the Bahamas on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019.
People stand on the boardwalk along the Atlantic Ocean at night as the outer bands of Hurricane Dorian reach Vero Beach, Fla., Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. The National Hurricane Center extended watches and warnings across the Florida and Georgia coasts Monday. Forecasters expected Dorian to stay off shore, but meteorologist Daniel Brown cautioned that “only a small deviation” could draw the storm’s dangerous core toward land.
Weston Lee, of Vero Beach, stands near the high surf from the Atlantic Ocean, in advance of the potential arrival of Hurricane Dorian, in Vero Beach, Fla., Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Vero Beach police officers James Doty and Chayse Hatfield, left, knock on doors to notify residents of a trailer park community of a mandatory evacuation, in preparation for Hurricane Dorian, in Vero Beach, Fla., Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. Some coastal areas are under a mandatory evacuation since the path of the storm is still uncertain. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Glenn Pinson, left, and Justin Raines make some last-minute preparations as they secure outdoor furniture at a restaurant in Cocoa Beach, Fla., in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Dorian to the East Coast, Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
A message to Hurricane Dorian is spry painted on a covering over a window at the Coastal Angler Magazine office, Monday, Sept. 2, 2019, in Cocoa Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
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