BP Oil Spill: How to Help when You Don't Live in the Area

Lauren Romano
Lauren Romano, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jun 5, 2010 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."
We've all seen the haunting images and heard the stories. The birds are so weighed down from the oil that they can't fly, dead animals are washing up on the coastline and those that make a living from the waters are losing more and more each day, both financially and emotionally, and that's just some of the continuing problems. The BP oil spill was a disaster right from the beginning that seems to only be getting worse. If you are one of the many people who say "I really wish I could do something." you can even if you don't live in the area.

Donate Money for Wildlife

Many organizations, including the National Wildlife Federation's Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund, are accepting monetary donations in various denominations. It doesn't matter if you donate five dollars or five hundred, every dollar you can donate will make a difference. You can make a one time donation or, in some cases, make a recurring donation depending on the organization.

Donate Money for Families

Food banks are going to need to lend more support to families that have been affected by the BP oil spill. Organizations such as the Second Harvest Food Bank are going to need even more support than usual. Especially for those that were struggling already, the BP oil spill can be even more of a devastating blow.

Use the Power of Social Media

Sometimes all it takes is one article, one link or one image to get someone to make a move to help. With all the forms of social media, from Twitter to Facebook, you have the power to motivate someone to do something. If you see something that affects you regarding the BP oil spill, post it, forward it through email, retweet it or whatever you have to do to get the word out. You never know when something you post can cause someone to make a decision to help.

Donate Items

Organizations such as Save Our Seabirds, Inc. has wish lists where they request various donations so they can do the best job possible. They may need items as simple as printer cartridges, rags and gloves. It is best to call the specific organizations first to get up to date information on which items they need the most.

As of now, unfortunately, BP refuses to use donated hair to help clean up the oil spill. Hopefully in the future they will consider it as an option.

Even if you feel like there is nothing you can do because you're not down there, you can still help. Please don't hesitate to do so just because you think it would be too insignificant; every little bit can make a big difference.

Note: Links and information are subject to change after publication of this article.

Sources:

https://online.nwf.org/site/Donation2?df_id=16706&16706.donation=form1

http://no-hunger.org/News/Gulf%20Oil%20Spill.aspx

http://saveourseabirds.com/index.php?page=OWR

http://inhabitat.com/2010/06/03/bp-refuses-to-use-donated-hair-mats-to-clean-up-oil-spill/

Published by Lauren Romano - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment and Lifestyle

Lauren is a freelance writer that predominantly writes about dating & relationships, celebrities, NYC, pets, decorating, crafts and fashion. She volunteers with animals and is grateful to have a job she...  View profile

7 Comments

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  • Project Learn John LeBlanc8/24/2010

    We have been hit like all other people with the oil spill. I know everone is trying to get help. We have a little non-profit that supports low-income families. We also were effected with families trying to meet everyday costs. When you see families feeding their children one time a day and the parents going with little it hurts not to be able to help. We could use your support to help these families. Our address is 1570 Bayou Blue Rd. Houma, La. 70364. Check us out on the web. project learn john leblanc. It still has our old address due to us not updating from 3 years age.

  • kayla8/3/2010

    im gonna donate money,time,and money so i can help i hope the problem fixes soon!

  • Erin Fair6/11/2010

    Cont'd from below...

    miss out on millions that are needed to deal with the impact of this spill.

    Here's a link to contact your Senators:
    http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

    And your Representative:
    https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

  • Erin Fair6/11/2010

    This is absolute nonsense. The notion that non-profits are the ones who will be doing the most to benefit the people and the wildlife is such a defeatist attitude to have at this point. I'm not arguing that wildlife and humanitarian orgs aren't essential, but right now congress is deciding how they're going to prosecute BP and how responsible they will be held for cleanup.

    SO, in addition to donating some money or hair, CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN WASHINGTON! Tell them you expect BP to be held fully responsible for the cleanup and impact on the people and wildlife, and the long term consequences, with REAL oversight.

    If Congress doesn't hear from us now it will be that much easier for them to succumb to the lobbying arguments that holding BP fully financially accountable will DROP BP'S STOCK VALUE AND CAUSE RETIREMENT PORTFOLIOS IN THE U.S. TO LOSE MONEY.

    No joke, this argument (and the many others they've been diligently crafting over the last 50-some days) could cause us to

  • L.L. Woodard6/5/2010

    Although BP itself may not be using donated hair to help clean the spill, I think there are groups of individuals who are asking for such donations. I also heard on the radio the other day that one of the large chains, Super Cuts I believe it was, is donating hair for the clean-up efforts.

  • Michael Segers6/5/2010

    Great ideas - and a great big idea behind the whole article. Thanks.

  • Jan Corn6/5/2010

    Great collection of options. People really do want to help.

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