/ Source: TODAY
On Sunday a tornado in eastern Alabama killed 23, including a 6-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, and sent dozens more to the hospital. The destruction is so great that Governor Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency and officials have said they expect that the death toll could increase.
Hearing about the loss of life and damage might make people feel powerless. But there are many ways people can help — whether they live down the street from the damage or across the country.
Several national and local organizations are accepting monetary donations, including:
- The American Red Cross is helping and is in need of donations. People can visit redcross.org, call 1-800 RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
- The Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund helps people in the state affected by bad weather and needs donations to help those impacted by the recent tornado.
- Community Foundation of East Alabama is accepting donations here.
- Help Samaritan’s Purse International Relief tornado recovery by giving here.
- ICNA Relief sent a disaster response team to Lee County and needs donations to provide assistance.
- GoFundMe collected all the verified fundraisers for tornado victims here.
- The Salvation Army set up a command center to provide assistance to first responders and aid to survivors. It also deployed mobile feeing units that provide hot meals, snacks and drinks.
- WVTM is hosting a telethon for tornado relief on Wednesday from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Many Alabama and national business are providing services to families impacted by the tornado, including:
- The Farm at Rocky Top in Salem will shelter families who lost their homes.
- Goree’s Furniture Express in Opelika is accepting donations for those impacted by the storm.
- Opelika Animal Hospital in Opelika is housing pets displaced by the tornado.
- U-Haul Companies of Central Alabama and Southern Georgia are providing free self-storage and U-Box containers for a limited time.
- T-Mobile sent a“relief truck” with free wi-fi, chargers, water, non-perishable food, gloves, tents, trash bags and other supplies to people in in Auburn. Learn more here.
- David Bancroft's Ace restaurant in Auburn is hosting a Burger Night Benefit tonight, starting at 6 p.m. ET.
- The Bow & Arrow restaurant, also a Bancroft-owned restaurant in Auburn, is providing food to Lee County first responders.
NBC News' Rima Abdelkader contributed to this article.