The world and the US media have finally taken notice of the tragedy playing out in the Caribbean and the Virgin Islands in Irma’s wake. We also have to give credit where credit is due and that is to MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. She spent most of last week in the Virgin Islands drawing attention to the damage.  She was joined by NBC News correspondent Ron Mott, who focused on the relief efforts on Saint Thomas. The Governor of New York and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Andrew Cuomo, visited the region. He’s sending NY National Guard, equipment and 100 state troopers to help the in the recovery efforts, stating “The devastation was heartbreaking, but we also witnessed the strength of the people of the US Virgin Islands. We will help rebuild.”

A great big bright spot has been the communities coming together to help, communities that each focus on a particular business or association. For instance, the American Sailing Association is raising money for captains and crews affected by the storm.  We’ve highlighted a few legitimate ones (at least as far as we could tell from our research) below.

We know it will be a long road back for the people of the islands. In a few months, once they’ve had some time to recover, remember them as you make plans for your next vacation. They need our support, but they’ll need our tourist dollars more.