The devastating floods in Texas have left many people wanting to help survivors who have lost everything.
But before opening your wallet, it's important to ensure your donation reaches those who truly need it.
Outside the Matthew: 25 Ministries donation center, people touched by the Texas tragedy were bringing bags and bags of supplies.
Randy Happy said it was the least he could do.
"Man, it's awful those young kids and those girls, man it's awful," Happy said.
See the Better Business Bureau's tips for how to donate safely to the Texas flood victims:
Melanie McGovern with the Better Business Bureau says to always give to established charities you know and trust.
If you're not sure, thoroughly research the organization before making a donation.
"It's so important to make sure that the charity you're donating to is reputable, that they're able to get to the area, and that a lot of the dollar that you donate goes to the actual cause and not any kind of overhead for that charity," McGovern said.
She suggests typing the charity name in a search engine to see if it comes up and if there are complaints about the organization.
You can also see complaints at the BBB's website.
And, she says, be wary of crowdfunding pages on social media.
"Oh...they lost everything...we're raising money, it's my cousin, or it's a friend of a friend. If you don't know the person directly, we will always recommend looking into that before making that donation," McGovern said.
McGovern's tips for spotting a donation scam include watching for requests for non-traditional forms of payment like gift cards, cryptocurrency or through peer-to-peer apps like Venmo.
Be cautious, she says, if they urge you to donate right away or if you receive unsolicited robocalls or texts.
Then, give what you can, like Connie Acra and her niece.
"If the community comes together and everybody does a little bit, it helps a lot," Acra said.
That way you don't waste your money.
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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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