Whether you flip on the television, scan through the radio stations, or pop up an internet window, you can’t miss hearing of the tragic aftermath of the tornadoes that ripped through Oklahoma this past week.  Homes, families, and lives have been torn apart.  It is a heartbreaking picture of complete and total devastation for so many families.

In the midst of this tragedy, Americans are pulling together and collectively asking, “What can we do to help?”  There are a number of organizations that are heading up relief efforts to assist those families who have lost so much.  Locally, Matthew 25 Ministries is currently collecting the following items for delivery to Oklahoma:

• Monetary Donations:  Donate online or mail checks to Matthew 25: Ministries, 11060 Kenwood Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242.
• Non-Perishable Food: PULL TOP canned vegetables, fruits etc.; ready to eat dry goods such as nuts, peanut butter, dried fruits, granola and trail mixes, jerkies, ready to eat snacks; bottled water; ready- to-eat meals or MREs etc.
• Personal Care Products: Antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, lotion etc.
• Cleaning supplies: Laundry detergents, general cleaner, sponges, bleach (powdered form is preferred), mops, scrub brushes, buckets, rubber gloves etc.
• Paper products: Toilet paper, paper towels etc.
• Baby and infant supplies: Diapers, wipes, diaper rash ointment, baby wash, baby shampoo, baby lotion etc.
• First-Aid items: Bandages, gauze, pads, first aid tape, antiseptic creams, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, latex gloves, instant cold packs etc.

There is also an extensive listing of national organizations as well as those local to Oklahoma that are accepting donations.

I know that this is a financially difficult time for many, and trying to stretch that dollar a little further is not an easy task.  However, even the smallest donation makes a difference.  As a couponing community, we are truly in a unique position.  We have the resources available to us to be able to purchase items for very little out of pocket expense, and in turn, have the ability to share from what we have…..to share with those whose need is truly dire.

Every penny, every food product, every supply item collected will help the people of Oklahoma come that much closer to picking up the pieces of their lives. I believe that collectively, we can make a difference, and little by little, hope might be restored to the people of Oklahoma.

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