How to Help With Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort

To: National Executive Board, National Advisory Council, All BSA Employees Our thoughts and prayers are with the many families in and outside of Scouting that have been affected by the historic flooding in South Central Texas. The councils that have been significantly impacted include Sam Houston Area Council(Houston), Three Rivers Council (Beaumont), Bay Area Council (Galveston), and South Texas Council (Corpus Christi), as well as counties within the Alamo Area (San Antonio) and Capitol Area (Austin) councils. We are working with the leadership teams of these local councils to make sure their staffs and families are safe. We are also getting input on property damage at council offices and camps. As the storms continue in the area, we will continuously evaluate the needs of our people and facilities. Thank you to those who have asked for ways to assist in helping the Scouting family. Given the extent of response efforts required, we understand it is important for first responders to focus on the most pressing emergencies without a well-intended influx of volunteers. As such, the best way to help in the near-term is to support relief efforts financially. To facilitate this, we have established an online giving site to handle donations at: scoutingemergency.kintera.org/texas. Through this site, donations can be designated for specific councils or for all of the councils most affected by the flooding. These funds will be used to rebuild and restore BSA facilities and programs. To provide immediate support for food and shelter needs in the area, we encourage you to donate directly to the American Red Cross and/or Salvation Army: American Red Cross: Donate online at redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Salvation Army: Donate online at helpsalvationarmy.org; by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY; or via mail to: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 1959, Atlanta GA 30301 Southern Region Director Ron Oats has designated Area Director Rob Hofmann as project lead for BSA's response to this need. Please make sure to coordinate any efforts with Rob before moving forward to ensure we provide a coordinated response. We will keep you updated as the situation continues to evolve. Thank you for your service and care for our BSA family.