Horror to Hope

But even before the waters ebbed and the military rolled in and government dollars started to flow, even as violence, chaos and desperation wrapped their icy fingers around the heart of the hurricane zone, there was hope. And often, at the core of that hope was a nonprofit organization: The Salvation Army, for example, had people on the ground in what seemed like minutes, making sure the stuff of life didn’t get caught up in the muck of bureaucracy and ineptitude that overshadowed early relief efforts. Immediate-response fundraising kicked into high gear, and Web sites sprang to life with stories about the strength of the human spirit, the frailty of the human condition and straight-to-the-heart arguments for giving.