CAN-DO Gives Over $100,000 in Lowe’s Gift Cards to Hurricane Survivors Overlooked in Texas

ROSE CITY, Texas (PRWEB) -- Global disaster relief organization, CAN-DO.ORG distributed over $107,000 in Lowe’s gift cards to Southeast Texas residents in Rose City still devastated after Hurricane Harvey seven months ago.

All but two homes in Rose City were completely under water following the storm. Many residents in the town of roughly 500 people are retirees and veterans with critical needs.

“After we got through the acute stage post-hurricane I realized the most efficient approach to help these residents was to get them the funds directly to them,” Eric Klein, founder and CEO of CAN-DO.ORG, a non-profit organization dedicated to cutting through red tape and delivering aid when it’s needed most, said.

For 15 years, CAN-DO.ORG has followed a simple but radical idea that yields big results: give away everything they bring in.

“100% of the funds we raise for a project goes to the actual project. We don’t use donation money for salaries or travel, we make sure donations get directly to the people who need it most,” Klein said. “When we wrap a project, the account has a zero balance.”

CAN-DO.ORG raised $107,049 as part of their “gift card challenge” for residents in Rose City. They relied on City officials to provide them a final list of homes rebuilding. CAN-DO.ORG then took the total number of homes rebuilding and divided it by the total donations raised to determine the value of each of gift card.

The result: 125 households rebuilding in Rose City each received a Lowe’s gift card stocked with $860 to spend on rebuilding supplies or appliances needed.

“Residents are at different rebuilding stages – some haven’t even hung dry wall yet, others are waiting for bathroom fixtures and a shower in order to move back in their home. The gift cards allows residents to be in control,” Klein said.

In December, Lowe’s Companies Inc. donated $10,000 to CAN-DO.ORG after Klein’s appearance on NBC’s Today Show. The show featured CAN-DO.ORG’s disaster relief efforts in Texas. Klein and his CAN-DO team took the small contribution from Lowe’s and produced more than a 10x return through a fundraising campaign on social media.

Klein’s approach to leading CAN-DO.ORG projects is based on a common sense model versus a one-size-fits all philanthropic approach.

Rose City Mayor Bonnie Stephenson says she’s never seen a non-profit organization so hands-on and accountable.

“Eric and his organization CAN-DO came into Rose City when we were at our lowest after Harvey devastated our town,” Rose City Mayor Bonnie Stephenson said. “He took control and helped with organizing [supplies], raising money and gave Lowe’s gift cards to the citizens. We will be forever in debt to Eric in CAN-DO.”

Despite billions of dollars raised for survivors of Hurricane Harvey by large NGOs and FEMA assistance programs, CAN-DO.ORG discovered many south Texas towns have no means to rebuild after being denied financial assistance.

“We’re seven months post-disaster and we have Hurricane season coming back right around the corner. The biggest issue I see time and time again is lack of accountability in terms of money non-profits bring in actually making it to the people who need it most,” Klein says.

CAN-DO.ORG was tipped off on the small town of Rose City in September 2017.  At that time there was no distribution of aid set up and CAN-DO.ORG’s Eric Klein discovered residents sleeping on tarps outside their destroyed homes. Klein made an emotional plea through a video he posted on social media alerting the public of the dire situation in Rose City. The video went viral – hitting more than half a million views in less than 72 hours.

Within 10 days, CAN-DO.ORG set up a large-scale distribution center in Rose City with the support of city officials. Containers and tents housed supplies that were donated from coast to coast including a food pantry, mold remediation material, cleaning products, cots, tens, fans and toiletries. CAN-DO.ORG commissioned local volunteers to help distribute directly to the community.

Klein and the CAN-DO.ORG team continue to advocate for residents in Southeast Texas who are struggling to access rebuilding resources.