If there was one thing that stood out in all the discussions, it was the depth of feeling expressed by the eBay Community as they came to terms with the tragedy. Discussion threads swelled with the caring thoughts of people who were willing and eager to help. Many offered prayers. Others shared links to websites of relief organizations and other resources.

Offers of help poured in from eBay members the world over. The ideas discussed on the boards illustrated members' courage and creativity—from offering to house a family of evacuees to running auctions to benefit the victims to offering services in exchange for voluntary donations to the Red Cross.

eBay also geared up to help as a responsible corporate citizen, setting up several ways for members to donate funds to the relief efforts. For sellers who donated at least 90% of the final sale price of an eBay Giving Works listing, eBay now donates the Insertion and Final Value Fees to the organization specified within the listing. The eBay Foundation made a $250,000 donation to the American Red Cross and matched employee donations dollar for dollar up to $500 per employee.

eBay also reached out directly to one thousand sellers in the Katrina-affected areas whose eBay activity over the past 12 months suggested that they ran their eBay business as their primary source of income. For these sellers, eBay deposited $1000 into their PayPal accounts to help them get back on their feet.

The eBay Community was founded by people helping people. Disasters like last year's tsunami in the Indian Ocean and hurricanes like Katrina and Rita in the U.S. show us how we are a true, global community. This month, The Chatter team wanted to honor this spirit. Below is a very small selection of posts from eBay members in the U.S. and around the world that contain offers of help and hope to those in need. It is truly what makes "The Power of All of Us."

Charity auctions sprang up in the days following the disaster
Hi Folks -- I'm sure most of us have been watching the broadcasts from New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulfport and surrounding areas, and we can easily agree that we'd like to be able to do SOMETHING to help. In this case, throwing money at the problem is actually more useful than sending off boxes of items -- storage is a problem, and distribution systems have been totally disrupted. Relief organizations operating in or near the affected areas need money to address local needs, and they are in the best position to determine those needs. 

I propose that in addition to our regularly scheduled holiday-themed ACTR auction, the "members" of the Jewelry Board gather together our resources and start a Hurricane Relief charity auction project right away!

thirry's impassioned appeal on the Jewelry & Gemstones board

Artists rallied for charity
We are writing to encourage you to join in a relief effort to help the hurricane victims along the Gulf Coast. MissionFish has created a list of organizations that are helping in the affected areas. 

We are sending this out to other groups and communities on eBay. 

We are creating a logo and are suggesting artists use the acronym, ‘A2H' (Art to Help) to show a united effort from eBay artists. Artists can choose any one of the non-profit organizations they wish. eBay Giving Works has offered to put our icon and a link to the A2H auctions on the Giving Works page.

pattyabaker on the Art & Artist board  

Members opened their homes to others in need
I am starting this post in hopes that our eBay Community will be willing to take in a family into their home and help out. It is the least we can do for these people who are going through this traumatic experience. You can post your contact info like an email where people can get a hold of you. I live in Florida and me and my family suffered through three hurricanes last year. We thought we had it bad!!

Let's come together and show that we have true, compassionate American hearts! If you can only take in one person or 10, or even animals, let them know out there they are not alone!!!!

We are willing to take in a family of 4, sorry no pets. We also have a family company and can line up jobs. We don't have a lot but can offer a roof, warm meals, hot showers and clean clothes!

superqueenaudra on the Natural Disaster & Relief Information board

Hi we are a family of 6 and could take in a family of 3 or maybe 4, with pets. We have plenty of kids' clothes for kids ages 3, 6,13, and 15. We live in Rockingham, North Carolina. We can possibly help with work and school also, for the time of stay. God bless you all. 

The Vandermast family.

zeus04t-bone on the Natural Disaster & Relief Information board 

We are a family of 5 in Fayetteville, NC. Children ages 2, 3 and 5. We are a military family. We have one extra room right now, but would be willing to move things around a bit to make room for others. We also have a German shepherd puppy, who is 7 months old. Let us know if we can be of any help. 

The Sterling Family

robertjodi on the Natural Disaster & Relief Information board

We are willing to share our home to someone who needs a place to call home for a while. We have an extra bedroom and we love kids. We don't have a lot but what we do have we are willing to share.

dorisjfaulkner on the Natural Disaster & Relief Information board

Members shared tips on what to cook for 150 people
Ham, string beans and potatoes. It's a favorite in Pennsylvania Dutch country for a reason. It is relatively inexpensive, easy to make and can be made to feed as large a crowd as you wish. And it is filling and delicious.

Cube up ham (into bite sized chunks), coarsely chop onion, clean the string beans and peel and cut potatoes. Toss it all in a pot, add enough water to just cover and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the vegetables are fork tender. You can't overcook this, so if need be your pot can be on a low simmer all day to keep this warm and ready to eat. Just make sure to occasionally give it a stir and that it doesn't simmer dry and you will be fine (you can always add more water). Ladle into bowls with some of the juice.

The ham acts as a secondary ingredient - more of a flavoring and accent than a main ingredient - so you don't need as much meat in proportion to the stringbeans and potatoes (lowering the cost to make, yet still giving the recipients meat in their meal). To serve 150, I'd estimate you'd need about 30 lbs of fresh string beans and about 30 lbs of potatoes. Perhaps 1/4 of that total in usable ham chunks. If the ham comes with a bone-in, you can toss the bone in the water to help flavor the broth, but make sure to take it out before serving.

The beauty of this dish is that there are no "correct" measurements... just use what you have and it will still be tasty and filling.

ocean*gypsy on the Cook's Nook board

A couple of big pots of ham and beans. Cornbread. Chopped onions and hot peppers or hot sauce to go on top of the beans. Not too hard to cook, not too expensive, and folks from that part of the country love it. Oh, and cole slaw.

okie-mama on the Cook's Nook board

The tragedy touched our international members too
Only know what I'm seeing on CNN and can't imagine the force of a hurricane here in the UK. But our thoughts are with you all and God bless America. Stay safe.

the.real.undertaker, a member from the U.K., on the Natural Disaster & Relief Information board

Sorry, my English is not perfect - but I'll try it. Could we anything do for the people in New Orleans? If we see the pictures in the TV, we feel so helpless. We would like to express and hope our sympathy that the emergency and the wrong stop soon!

maxobine, a member from Germany, on the Natural Disaster & Relief Information board

Hello friends
Do not forget that the French people are with you. I know that the solidarity is the biggest proof of love. Good courage to you, to cross this terrible event!!!! I wish you a lot of courage.

misty8033 from France, on the Natural Disaster & Relief Information board

Booklovers contributed books for comfort
Not everyone has extra money to give...I'm a social worker and have an extremely rewarding low-paying job! I give as much as I can...yesterday I had $100 in my PayPal account and gave $25. Not many people give 25% of what they have. My family is glad to.

What I do have to give is stuff. I understand many places can't take "stuff", but many places in Dallas do, so I'm taking things there. We're housing some 20,000 people at Reunion Arena. The Salvation Army is accepting donations of things. One of the things I'll be taking is books. I'm an avid, lifelong reader, and if I were in the situation these people are in, the one thing I'd need after shelter, food and water would be something to temporarily occupy my mind. So yes, I'm giving books....many, many books....

the_enchanted_wildflower on the Booksellers board 

Pay us in kind… and kindness
Do you want or need a Store logo, board signature, clothing condition guide, or other graphic?? 

Would you like to help the Katrina victims? 

Here's the deal. You post your request (and please be specific about colors, text, fonts, etc.). I, and hopefully others, will take your suggestions and whip something up for you. 

As thanks for our hard work, we would like to ask you to make a voluntary donation, whatever you can or want to spend, to any Hurricane Katrina victims fund. You can make your donation to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or one of many other charities helping out in the devastation. This is not required, it is not payment for services or an auction or off eBay sale of any kind. It is strictly voluntary, on the honor system, and merely a suggestion.

sunflowers*n*ladybugs on the Childrens Clothing Boutique board

Big gifts for the little ones were soon on their way
I have my box ready to go. I've included some baby blankets, coloring books and crayons, and about 30 dolls and softees, some new, others like new.

haleys1nana on the Dolls board

I've been in the attic for the last hour or so - box is ready to ship and will go out today - ALL NEW ITEMS - clothes, toys, coloring books, story books, teddy bears - children's towels (Scooby Doo and Dora), small counted cross stitch kits and dolls.

ronton1942 on the Dolls board

Today, I saw a polarfleece blanket and matching pillow at my supermarket for $9.99. By using our brains, I think we can make these sets more cheaply than that. A small rectangular pillow foundation or even a cheap polyester bed pillow cut in half, rehemmed, then covered with polarfleece would fit the bill perfectly. It seems to me that when you don't have a home or a bed of your own any more, at least having something of your own to sleep with would be a major comfort.

fancytclown on the Dolls board

A little help from eBay got sellers and their communities back on their feet
I live two miles from downtown New Orleans and have sustained damage to my home due to the hurricane and flood waters. I have been staying in Oklahoma and spending $100-150 a day on hotels and gas. eBay deposited funds into my account to help me and I thank everyone in the eBay Community for this. I have applied for FEMA aid, Red Cross and everything else and have not received any help from anyone. eBay put money in my account to help before our own Government helped—that is amazing and I am very grateful.

surfer0_9 on the Natural Disaster & Relief Information board

Dear Mr. Cobb,

I wanted to take a moment to personally thank you and eBay for the $1,000.00 donation to my PayPal account as an act of goodwill for those of us impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Though our area was hit badly, my personal losses were very minor. As a teacher, however, we had several families lose everything and welcomed several new, displaced students to our school. In fact, one of my students, whose mother is a teacher at our school, currently has 16 family members living in her home because theirs were destroyed. Yesterday I gave Mrs. Cornelius $500 on behalf of eBay, with which she will purchase groceries and school supplies for her nieces and nephews. The remainder of the $500 I will give to my own father, who lives in Bayou la Batre and lives on Social Security income. The donation could not have come at a better time, so I am most grateful for the thoughtful and generous gift. Thank YOU for allowing ME to help some people near and dear to me!

Sincerely,

mnddavis

An email from mnddavis to Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America

Taking care of our animal friends
A group of volunteers from across the nation is forming a convoy system to get animals out of the affected areas so they can be fostered in people's homes. The “assembly line” system is still being developed, but we hope to have a convoy from Arlington, Texas to Boston, Massachusetts with major drop off/pick up points along the way every 4 or so hours. I am helping to coordinate the convoy/rescue effort in New England. If you want to help too, we need people in New England willing to foster displaced animals or offer logistical support. If you can help us, please email me back.

themagicmountain on the Animals board

I talked to my vet (she is going to check with other Vets in the state) last night and I am going to call my Animal Control officer today to see if anyone from Montana is going to go down as I have a weeks vacation to use and I am willing to help. I am going to call Fish and Game also and see if there is a group going down.

snickerdoodles83 on the Animals board

And finally, a poem from the heart that a member shared on the boards
If I had the strength to save you all
To be there before you sent out the call
Had I the money to house every one
I would not have rested until it was done. 

Should I be able to hug each of you
And let you know that this was through
I'd hug the weeks by until you felt secure
Until you were able to reach closure. 

All I can do is send what I can
To help animal and fellow man
And know that others are filling the breach
To pull you all back ere you drift out of reach. 

Know that we love you, know that we care
Know that help is coming from everywhere
Soon you can rest, soon you can sleep
And over your rest, watch we'll all keep.

Written by ladyhawke and posted on the Animals board