Monetary donations are best for Hurricane Harvey, says Red Cross

TULSA -- So many people are looking for ways to donate to the Hurricane Harvey victims. 

The Red Cross said the best way to help right now is with a monetary donation. 

Executive Director Regina Moon said the immediate need is food and shelter for the people displaced. 

"In the short term what we need is to do those things that keep people safe, fed, with changes of clothing, able to get their medication," Moon said. 

She said called it a "high level massive disaster response" and said money allows organizations in the area to asses needs as they arise and fill them. 

"It enables us to provide immediate basic needs and then later down the road deliver financial assistance that can help them from a short term bridge to a longer term solution for many of their issues," Moon said. 

Currently, the Red Cross from the Tulsa area has about 40 trained volunteers in southeast Houston. 

Moon said there are shelters set up ready to take in evacuees. 

The Red Cross has a streamlined process to provide a high level of care to Harvey's victims. They do not accept clothing or food. Moon said it would take time and money to sort and transport the goods. 

"That may be something that can happen later down the road," Moon said. "But in this initial stage, it is very orchestrated and very well-thought out and pre-planned to be effective right now." 

Keller Williams Reality is collecting gift cards to major chains like Walmart and Target at their three locations in the Tulsa area. 

Julie Smith with Keller Williams Reality said originally they planned to collect supplies but realized how hard it is to transport the items to southeast Texas right now.

This allows them to hand gift cards to the victims or use the cards to buy supplies closer to the affected area and avoid hassles with transportation. 

"I think we have so many people who are trying to figure out how we can help," Smith said. 

Donations can be dropped off at Keller Williams locations in Owasso at 12150 East 96th Street North, in midtown Tulsa at 2651 East 21st Street or in south Tulsa at 4745 East 91st Street. 

A $10 donation can also be made to the Red Cross by texting 90999. People can also go to the Red Cross website to make a donation or dropping off donations at 10151 East 11th Street in Tulsa. 

<p><em><strong>Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.</strong></em></p><p>Download our free app for <a href="http://bit.ly/2wfyiphoneapp" target="_blank">Apple</a> and <a href="http://bit.ly/kjrhandroid" target="_blank">Android</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://amzn.to/1dLTWVt" target="_blank">Kindle</a> devices.</p><p>Sign up for&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kjrh.com/account/manage-email-preferences" target="_blank">newsletters emailed to your inbox.</a> Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.</p><p><em><a href="https://twitter.com/KJRH2HD" target="_blank">Follow us on Twitter</a>:&nbsp;</em></p><p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button.html?screen_name=KJRH2HD" style="width:300px; height:30px;"></iframe></p><p><em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/kjrhtv" target="_blank">Like us on Facebook</a>:&nbsp;</em></p><p><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fkjrhtv&amp;width&amp;layout=standard&amp;action=like&amp;show_faces=true&amp;share=true&amp;height=80" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; height:80px;"></iframe></p><p>&nbsp;</p>