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How to help migrant families

Published  June 20, 2018 11:06pm EDT
Business
FOX 5 New York

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - The images and the audio from the southern border may break your heart. For some Americans, what they are seeing on TV has compelled them to act. One California couple hoped to raise $1,500 but ended up raising millions.

Thousands of charities and organizations are working to help the thousands of migrant families in need. Many are donating to the legal defense of these immigrants. Others are looking to provide clothes and toys that may help soothe the children separated from their parents.

So what is the right way to give back?

Claire Rosenzweig of the Better Business Bureau encourages you to check watchdog groups such as Give.org, GuideStar, and Charity Watch for help determining which charities are legitimate.

Even celebrities like the George and Amal Clooney have felt compelled to act. They donated $100,000 to the young center for immigrant children's rights.

"At some point in the future our children will ask us: 'Is it true, did our country really take babies from their parents and put them in detention centers?' And when we answer yes, they'll ask us what we did about it. What we said. Where we stood," the Clooneys said in a statement. "We can't change this administration's policy but we can help defend the victims of it."

That donation is nothing compared to the effort mobilized by Charlotte and Dave Willner from the San Francisco Bay area. They launched a fundraiser for RAICES, an immigration legal services provider in Texas, and raised $12.2 million to help these families in their legal fight. Facebook called RAICES the single largest fundraising effort ever.

Here are other ways to help:

1. Call your representatives and let them know how you feel about this current policy.

2. Find a local protest and share your voice. Rallies could let elected leaders know how this issue is being received.

3. Donate directly to the children. Baby2Baby and KIND (Kids in Need of Defense) have set up baby registries at Target to send essentials like diapers, toys, and shampoo.