WASHINGTON – Unwanted items lying around the house could help Philippine typhoon victims as well as members of the U.S. military headed for the disaster zone.
“We’re issuing an urgent plea for donations of food and supplies for delivery to the Philippine storm victims and the troops that are deploying to the area,” Germaine Broussard, founder and president of the Virginia-based charity Troop Treats told WTOP.
Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines leaving behind a death toll of more than 2,300, which is expected to rise as accurate information is collected from the whole disaster zone. Approximately 600,000 people were displaced by the typhoon,– many of them homeless, hungry and thirsty.
Donations are being collected at four drop-off sites in Northern Virginia:
- The Mason Inn Hotel, 4352 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax
- The James Lee Community Center, 2855 Annandale Road, Falls Church
- Fairfax County Supervisor John Cook’s Office, 9002 Burke Lake Road, Burke
- The Fratkin Broussard Team at Morgan Stanley, 1650 Tysons Boulevard, McLean (please call first at 703-556-8108 to arrange a drop-off)
“If someone in Maryland or D.C. wants to get involved, please contact us and we can make arrangements to either do a pickup or to meet you somewhere,” said Broussard.
Troop Treats is requesting the following items:
- First Aid Kits
- Canned food items
- Noodle packets & Rice
- Sanitary napkins for women
- Blankets, socks, underwear, pants
- Baby food (unbreakable containers)
- Small/medium flashlights, Portable radios & AA batteries
- Hotel size toiletries (soap, shampoo, baby wipes, tooth paste)
To make a money donation via PayPal, visit the Troop Treats website.
Some time in the next two weeks, the organization will ask for volunteers to help pack the donations for shipping.
Broussard says the items will be packed into boxes the size of those used for copier paper. They cost about $50 each to ship through priority Mail.
Help is needed right away, but there is no deadline for making donations. Broussard said they’ll be shipping items out constantly throughout the next few weeks, and she expects the Philippines will need help for quite some time.
“This is going to be a long haul for all of us,” Broussard said.
Related links
- Rice, water distributed in typhoon-struck city
- Money preferred form of charity for typhoon relief
- Typhoon-struck Philippine city begins mass burial
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