Ethical issues: October 2005 Archives

I should have done this earlier, but what the heck.

Many people seem to be looking for ways to help with disaster relief but are frustrated with reports of mismanagement and bureaucracy at the American Red Cross (perhaps they should be renamed Red Tape?)

If you're looking for an effective agency to donate to, I strongly suggest UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee On Relief.

Yes, they're affiliated with the United Methodist Church, but fear not, nonbelievers: UMCOR has a strict policy of not letting prosletyzation pollute their relief work. They actually really piss off the conservative wing of the Methodist denomination by not letting them slip little bibles into their relief kits. It's strictly about service and compassion.

And they have a reputation among relief workers as one of the most well-organized and effective relief organizations around. Example: FEMA just outsourced its gulf coast hurricane relief case management to UMCOR because they knew UMCOR could do it better than any other agency. Heck, UMCOR was focusing on the situation with conflict diamonds in Africa back when Kanye was still folding t-shirts at the Gap.

Apparently UMCOR has been so busy helping people that they haven't had time to implement a way to donate with a credit card on their website. But you can call 1-800-554-8583.