Charlottesville: What You Can Do Right Now To Help

As of now, we know of three deaths and at least 33 injuries that happened at the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville this past Saturday. This included one woman who was killed and several others seriously injured as a result of a domestic terrorist attack carried out by one of the alt-right demonstrators.

But even among those who were not directly affected, the city and community of Charlottesville is seriously rattled, still reeling from the shock of what happened, and in deep need of all our support.

Many of you are asking how you can help.

Thankfully, there are concrete things you can do right now to help the victims, their families, and the city of Charlottesville. We’ve compiled a list of resources to get you started.

Support the victims.

Heather Heyer was killed when a white supremacist slammed his car into a crowd of anti-hate demonstrators. She was 32 years old and described as a “strong woman” who stood up for what she believed. As of now, her Go Fund Me fundraiser has been closed because all the necessary funds were raised (which is awesome!). But there are still dozens of people suffering from injuries (both from the terror attack and other violent clashes) who need our help.

1. Alexis Morris and her 13-year-old daughter Noelle Morris were injured during the terror attack. Alexis was hit by the car during the attack and hospitalized; her daughter has a fractured arm. Click here to support their medical expenses.

2. Natalie Romero is another victim of the terror attack. The 20-year-old from Houston is suffering from a fractured skull as well as other injuries. Natalie doesn’t have health insurance. You can contribute to her medical expenses here.

3. 20-year-old Deandre Harris was brutally assaulted by white supremacists in a parking lot during the rally. He was chased, beaten with metal poles, and knocked unconscious several times. His injuries are extensive. Click here to support Deandre.

4. Donate to the GoFundMe Medical Fund for Charlottesville Victims. This is a fund to support all the victims. As of now, it has raised over $150,000 and counting.

Support local community organizations.

Charlottesville is in need of healing on so many levels and will likely be feeling the effects of what happened for a long time. It’s so important that we support local Charlottesville organizations right now, as the community rebuilds itself from the ground up.

1. Donate to the C-Ville Victim Relief Fund. Unity Cville is a group of Charlottesville community members raising funds for the victims of the terrorist attack as well as others affected by the rally. All funds raised will be given directly to the city of Charlottesville.

2. Donate to the NAACP Albemarle-Charlottesville (Branch 7057). This is the Charlottesville branch of the NAACP, an organization that has a long history of helping and supporting people of color on local and national scales.

3. Donate to the Black Student Alliance at UVA. The University of Virginia is where the white supremacist rally took place, so now is the time to support anti-hate organizations within the university as they work to support their community.

4. Donate to the Brody Jewish Center of the University of Virginia. Jews are another group that were specifically called out and targeted in hate speech at the rally, so supporting local Jewish support organizations is also vital at this time.

5. Donate to IMPACT Charlottesville. Support this local interfaith organization that focuses on social justice causes and issues.

6. Donate to the Black Lives Matter chapter in Charlottesville. Grassroots community groups like BLM need our support more than ever right now.

Support national social justice groups.

Now is also the time to support our national anti-hate organizations — because we need to brace ourselves for something like this happening again, and the best thing we can do is support organizations that work every day to uphold equal rights for all people.

To help on a national level, consider donating to the Southern Poverty Law Center or the NAACP.

It is also an important time to call, text, or email your reps to demand that the president take a much stronger stance on the hate that was unleashed in Charlottesville last weekend, and that our government do everything in its power to stop hate groups from making their way into other towns across America.

This is some scary shit, and now is the time to do everything we can to stop this atrocious level of bigotry, racism, and violence right it its tracks.