At press time, Hurricane Katrina had just swept through many areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Public safety was overwhelmed by the devastation and the needs of citizens left homeless and without resources. Unfortunately, many officers now face the overwhelming challenge of responding to the disaster while dealing with the loss of their own home; in some cases they even lost the use of their police facility. These officers need our help, and the best thing we can do at this point is show our support by donating funds that will help them rebuild their lives.
At least two national law enforcement organizations the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) have sprung into action to help officers affected by the storm and its aftermath.
The FOP has activated a Disaster Relief Committee to send aid to its members in the affected areas, and says the national lodge will act as the focal point for all inquiries, aid collection and information for the state lodges. For more information, visit www.grandlodgefop.org/newsinfo/katrina.html. You can send donations directly to:
National Fraternal Order of Police
1410 Donelson Pike, Suite A-17
Nashville TN 37217
Make checks payable to the Fraternal Order of Police Foundation. In the memo section, please write "Hurricane Relief."
NAPO has set up the NAPO Relief Fund, a tax-deductible 501(c)3 program, to help aid the officers affected by this disaster. The organization says all donations raised through this appeal will be used to help ease the suffering in New Orleans in coordination with the Police Association of New Orleans, NAPO's local affiliate. NAPO is covering the administrative costs of this effort. For more information, or to download NAPO's donation form, go to www.napo.org/ReliefFund.htm.
National Association of Police Organizations
720 First Street, NE, Suite 920
Washington, DC 20002-4241
Tel: 202/842-4420
Fax: 202/842-4396
