Photo by Tod Seelie

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the East Coast. Residents of New Jersey and New York City are still feeling the intense effects of Hurricane Sandy. The devastating storm has destroyed entire homes in its wake. The hardest hit areas, including Rockaway, Queens, are still struggling to get heat and hot water. The freezing nor’easter last week just added salt to the wound. No matter where you are, there’s lots you can do to help. Recovery efforts have already revealed how strong we are as a nation to pull together after a disaster.

If you’re on the ground, consider volunteering time to help clear basements or distribute donations. You can find the most up-t0-date information at Occupy Sandy.

The easiest way to help out if you already have an Amazon account is to contribute something to the Occupy Sandy wedding Registry. Instead of cleaning out your closet to come up with donations consider fulfilling a specific request. People on the ground are constantly updating what is needed most. You can buy cleaning supplies, hardware, or baby items that will be delivered straight to relief efforts.

Architecture for Humanity is a global community that helps to rebuild spaces, often in green ways, in post-conflict areas.Their recent report just how much is needed to rebuild the coastline. Text REBUILD to 85944 to make a $10 donation.

The American Red Cross is on the ground feeding hot meals to people and distributing blankets. You can contribute directly on the website.

Amazon.com, the king of all super convenient e-commerce sites, has launched a new online site dedicated to all things eco-friendly and green: vine.com. The site sells earth-friendly products at super friendly prices across home and beauty, kids and babies, pets, apparel, grocery and more. But the best feature is when you use a coupon code when checking out (HEALTHYCHILD10), you’ll get $10 off your order, free shipping, and vine.com will donate $10 to Healthy Child Healthy World. Everybody wins.

Healthy Child Healthy World is a nonprofit very dear to Paper Culture’s heart. We made holiday cards to benefit the organization, while educating consumers on how to have a safer, healthier home. Healthy Child Healthy World has been around for 20 years, working to teach families about the link between a child’s health and the environment. Not to mention they have a great website with daily ideas about improving our child’s health. Vine.com seems like a can’t-beat combination. Next time you do your weekly shopping check it out and make a free donation to an amazing charity.