I just talked with Mark Shriver, Vice President of U.S. programs for Save the Children. Working closely with the American Red Cross and local and state officials in San Antonio -- and bolstered by generous assistance from Toys "R "Us, Inc. and Scholastic -- Save the Children is preparing to meet the basic needs of infants, toddlers and older children who are arriving by the thousands to shelters in San Antonio ahead of Hurricane Ike.

A key goal is creating is creating Safe Spaces for children who have been displaced by the hurricane. Safe Spaces are designed to let children be children, even in the midst of a crowded emergency shelter, and include a supervised area filled with toys, art supplies, books and games -- something lacking in most shelters.

If you'd like to help in the effort, please see the links at the end of this post.  In the meantime, I asked Mark about how you can help your kids --both in and out of the hurricane zone -- deal with such emergencies.  He passed along the following information:

The frightening images of death and destruction in the aftermath of major storms to hit the United States over the past few weeks are once again having an impact on children across the nation.

Concerned about the emotional well-being of their children, many parents, teachers, grandparents and care-givers are looking for advice on how to respond to questions from children about unsettling and upsetting events that continue to be shown in the media about recent storms.

Children often ask the adults in their lives to explain what they are seeing and reassure them about what will happen next: "Will everything be OK? Why is this happening? What will happen to the children who have lost so much?"

How do we respond to these questions?

Following 9/11 - and again after Hurricane Katrina - Save the Children prepared the following ten tips to help adults support children through times of crisis. These ten tips are based upon Save the Children's years of experience in providing emotional support to children during natural disasters, both nationally and internationally. And they can be used as a guide for adults to support children through this crisis. The relevance of different tips may vary depending on such factors as a child's previous experience, age and where he or she lives in the world.

1. Turn off the television. Watching television reports on disasters may overwhelm younger children. They may not understand that the tape of an event is being replayed, and instead think the disaster is happening over and over again. Overexposure to coverage of the events affects teenagers and adults as well. Television limits should be set for both you and your children.
2. Listen to your children carefully. Before responding, get a clear picture of what it is that they understand and what is leading to their questions. Emotional stress results in part when a child cannot give meaning to dangerous experiences. Find out what he or she understands about what has happened. Their knowledge will be determined by their age and their previous exposure to such events. Begin a dialogue to help them gain a basic understanding that is appropriate for their age and responds to their underlying concerns.
3. Give children reassurance and psychological first-aid. Assure them about all that is being done to protect children who have been directly affected by this crisis. Take this opportunity to let them know that if any emergency or crisis should occur, your primary concern will be their safety. Make sure they know they are being protected.
4. Be alert for significant changes. Parents should be alert to any significant changes in sleeping patterns, eating habits, concentration, wide emotional swings or frequent physical complaints without apparent illness. If present, these will likely subside within a short time. If prolonged, however, we encourage you to seek professional support and counseling. For children directly affected by a crisis - such as children who have lost a loved one - parents should consult their pediatrician or family doctor and consider counseling, not just for the child, but also for the entire family. It may be an important preventative measure. But other children may also be affected by the images they see and stories they hear.
5. Expect the unexpected. Not every child will experience these events in the same way. As children develop, their intellectual, physical and emotional capacities change. Younger children will depend largely on their parents to interpret events, while older children and teenagers will get information from a variety of sources which may not be as reliable. Understand that older teenagers, because of their greater capacity for understanding, may be more affected by these stories. While teenagers seem to have more adult capacities to recover as well, they still need extra love, understanding and support to process these events.
6. Give your children extra time and attention. They need your close, personal involvement to comprehend that they are safe and secure. Talk, play and, most important, listen to them. Find time to engage in special activities for children of all ages. Read bedtime stories and sing songs to help younger children fall asleep.
7. Be a model for your child. Your child will learn how to deal with these events by seeing how you deal with them. Base the amount of self-disclosure on the age and developmental level of each of your children. Explain your feelings but remember to do so calmly.
8. Watch your own behavior. Make a point of showing sensitivity toward those impacted by the disaster. This is an opportunity to teach your children that we all need to help each other.
9. Help your children return to normal activities. Children almost always benefit from activity, goal orientation and sociability. Ensure that your child's school environment is also returning to normal patterns and not spending great amounts of time discussing the crisis.
10. Encourage your child to do volunteer work. Helping others can give your child a sense of control, security and empathy. Indeed, in the midst of crisis, adolescents and youth can emerge as active agents of positive change. Encourage your children to help support local charities that assist children in need.

How You Can Help

Donate to the Hurricane Ike Children in Crisis Fund
Save the Children is responding to the immediate and long-term needs of children in Texas by helping them prepare for and recover from Hurricane Ike. Your donation will help us provide emergency supplies, such as diapers, wipes and portable cribs and help us set up the agency's signature Safe Spaces program to ensure the safety and well-being of children who have been evacuated to shelters.

Donate to the U.S. Emergencies Fund
You can help Save the Children make a difference in the lives of children affected by disasters in the United States. By contributing to the U.S. Emergencies Fund, you enable us to serve children through disaster planning, preparedness, response and recovery work. With your help, Save the Children has responded to the needs of children impacted by the massive evacuation of families from the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, the recent flooding in the Midwest, the wildfires in California as well as our ongoing work in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.