Donate your things

If you’ve got a lot of abubot sitting at home, just collecting dust, you could choose to donate them instead. Donation drives accept essential items that flood victims need so much right now, so you can send clothes, shoes, old gadgets, and the likes.

Spread useful information

This has been especially important during the critical hours of last week’s flooding in the Cagayan region. Much of the devastation was due to the fact that there was a lack of information disseminated within the region with local government units caught surprised. News on what’s happening in the region started to gain traction around Thursday evening, and most of it was sourced from social media posts shared by flood victims or their relatives.

Encourage others to help

Sharing useful information is also important in the aftermath, particularly for relief operations, so that those in your circle can see where they can donate if they have the capacity for it. You can also encourage your company to start an initiative, such as donating clothes and other essentials. Some employers also do gift matching, in which the company will match a portion or all of what you choose to donate, so make sure to talk to your HR personnel if you’re still looking for ways to donate.

Donate your time

If you’ve got a lot of time on your hands, one of the easiest (but also hardest!) ways you can donate is to volunteer in relief operations. A lot of nonprofit organizations and donation drives are actually operated by volunteers, so you could look for one in your workplace, your school, or even just your immediate community, and you’ll probably find a place to volunteer at. Just remember: practice social distancing! We’re still in the middle of a pandemic, after all.

Use your skillz

If you do have time but can’t go out due to health restrictions or the like, then maybe you could use your skills from the safety of your home. Are you good with design? Come up with infographics and pubmats to properly disseminate information on the internet. Do you cook? Volunteer your cooking skills to prepare food for flood victims and rescuers alike. Just find something that would fit your skill — there’s much to do around here.

Donate reward points

A quick way to donate is to check on your reward points with your phone or your bank cards and see if they’re offering to convert your earned points to support for relief operations for the flood victims. Some of the companies offering this are Globe through their Globe Rewards Points program and GCash and Cebu Pacific through their GetGo points.

Watch Youtube videos

Many celebrities and personalities have been donating or setting up their own relief operations as well, and some content creators have even turned their videos into an opportunity to give back. Vloggers like Donnalyn Bartolome and John Valencia of Truly Asia Diaries have pledged to turn all the profit they will make for one of their videos into a donation. So you could simply watch and successfully turn your view into a donation. Just make sure you don’t skip ads!

Shop at the right places

The 11.11 sale might’ve just ended, but in case you’re still eyeing something to add to your cart, make sure you purchase from brands that support the relief operations. A lot of big and small brands have pledged a portion or even 100% of their sales to help typhoon victims. Just scroll through their social media accounts so you could see if they’re part of the cause.

Have any other tips? Share them below!