Experts say the best thing people can do to help after a natural disaster is to donate money that will be distributed by a responsible, local nonprofit. Hours after a tornado spun through tiny Smith Island on Aug. 4, hitting 17 buildings and severely damaging three, that’s exactly what began to happen. Jay Fleming, a photographer and frequenter of the island, started a GoFundMe campaign the night the tornadic waterspout struck. So far, about 1,200 people have donated that way to the island’s relief efforts. The money will soon be controlled by Smith Island United, a tax-exempt charity on the remote island in the Chesapeake Bay.
Smith Island weathered a tornado. Now a 7-person panel must decide how to distribute $116K in relief
August 22, 2022