Answers to your questions and more...
Q. Is HelpKeepWarm.org registered with the state of Florida as a non-profit organization?
A. Yes. We are listed as HELPKEEPWARM ORG INC and our EIN number is 11-3837801. HelpKeepWarm is a 501 (c) (3) organization and your donations are tax deductable. To verify this information you can call 1-800-829-4933.
Q. What do I use as a receipt for tax deduction purposes?
A. If you plan to donate $250 or more, send an email with the name the donation will be sent under and we will confirm the donation and then send a email confirmation back to you for your tax records. For donatons under $250, when you use your credit card to donate, your card statement should list a charge for HelpKeepWarm.org. This statement should serve as a receipt. When you buy sleeping bag(s) at your local store, keep your receipt and write on the back of it, donation to HelpKeepWarm.org. If you send us a check, save your canceled check as proof of your donation.
Q. Is anyone associated with HelpKeepWarm.org paid a salary by the organization?
A. No. Currently no one receives any type of income from HelpKeepWarm.org. Everyone associated with
HelpKeepWarm.org is a volunteer.
Q. How do you distribute the sleeping bags?
A. We network with organizations that have established relationships with large numbers of homeless people and then coordinate the distributions with those organizations when they are providing outreach services; i.e., In Tampa, FL, The Heart of Tampa Project provides lunch to 300-400 homeless every Sunday. We handed out sleeping bags at their luncheon in December 2007 and 2008. We plan to do the same for 2009 and, as the number of bags we collect go up, we will reach out to
the soup kitchens across America.
Q. Do you think by giving sleeping bags to the homeless you are causing them to stay in their situation longer?
A. This was actually a question asked in 2007. Our answer at the time was, buy a sleeping bag, wait until the temperature drops below 30 degrees and then sleep outside all night. The next morning, ask yourself if that sleeping bag would motivate you in any way to sleep outside on the cold ground for an undetermined amount of time.
Q. Do the sleeping bags only go the homeless sleeping outdoors.
A. The first line of distribution is the homeless sleeping outdoors, including cars and vacant buildings. If there is a surplus of bags (doubtful), the second line of distribution is homeless sleeping in shelters - sleeping bags can be unzipped and used as blankets. There is a blanket shortage at many shelters.
Q. What should the temperature guidelines be when purchasing bags?
A. Buy the bag temperature to fit the area of the country you would like your bag(s) to be sent to. For example, in the Northeast buy 0 degrees and in the Southeast 30 degrees will work.
Q. Is the packaging of the sleeping bags an issue?
A. Yes. Less packaging is better. Before we distribute the bags, we remove all packaging and write on each bag not for resale. Buying bags with less packaging will save us time and keep us all moving toward living green.
Q. What is your confidentiality policy?
A. We do not sell our mail lists. We will not give your name to any other organization or any other type of company. Your information is confidential.
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AP updated 3:41 p.m. ET, Wed., Jan. 10, 2007 WASHINGTON - There were 744,000 homeless people in the United States in 2005, according to the first national estimate in a decade. A little more than half were living in shelters, and nearly a quarter were chronically homeless, according to the report Wednesday by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an advocacy group. A majority of the homeless were single adults, but about 41 percent were in families, the report said. The group compiled data collected by the Department of Housing and Urban Development from service providers throughout the country. It is the first national study on the number of homeless people since 1996. That study came up with a wide range for America’s homeless population: between 444,000 and 842,000. Counting people without permanent addresses, especially those living on the street, is an inexact process. But the new study is expected to provide a baseline to help measure progress on the issue. “Having this data brings all of us another step closer to understanding the scope and nature of homelessness in America, and establishing this baseline is an extremely challenging task,” HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said. “Understanding homelessness is a necessary step to addressing it successfully.”
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