INDIANAPOLIS — There are a variety of ways to help out the Florida community as Hurricane Ian rips through the state, swamping streets with water and smashing trees along the coast.
If you want to donate money specifically to those affected by this storm, you can go to Red Cross.org/donate and select "Hurricane Ian."
If you prefer to send the Red Cross a check, write "Hurricane Ian" on the memo line and mail it along with their donation form.
MORE: Red Cross donation form
Before donating to any group or organization, make sure they're real first.
Sites to search include Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau's Give.org.
It will not only say if it's real or not, but also, how much of the donations go to the cause.
If you can't afford to donate cash, consider donating blood.
Even before the hurricane, Indiana Region of American Red Cross CEO Chad Priest said they were in desperate need of blood donations.
"While we don't necessarily need those blood donors because of Hurricane Ian, and we know there will be disruptions to the overall stock and supply of blood, and the more blood we can get on the shelves now, the better," Priest said.
If you shop on Amazon, they will donate a half-percent of eligible purchases to the charity of your choice if you're signed up for Amazon Smile.
Instead of just heading to Amazon.com, instead, go to Smile.Amazon.com where you'll shop like you normally would.
If you use the Amazon app, you can enable Smile in your settings.