A U.S. Coast Guard Photo shows the devastation from flooding in Kerr County over the weekend. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / U.S. Coast Guard

In an effort to shut down scammers, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai in encouraging those who want to help Texas flood victims only do so by donating to vetted organizations.

What’s more, Sakai — the county’s top elected official — urged interested donors to focus on making financial contributions rather than food and other material goods. The statement from Sakai’s office suggested that overwhelming local organizations with physical items — though intended to help — could make things worse.

“We want to do what is most needed for the victims of this tragedy, and at this point, we are being told that financial assistance is the priority,” Sakai said in the statement. “We don’t want to contribute to a ‘crisis within a crisis,’ and that would be donating items from well-intentioned people to a community that has no place to store those items.”

To the judge’s point, the Kerrville Salvation Army on Monday said it’s not accepting any more in-kind donations until it can upgrade to a storage and processing site large enough to accommodate the high intake volume. 

“To help us best manage resources, reduce waste, and relieve the burden on local officials and first responders, we ask the community to hold additional in-kind or meal donations until we are able to obtain a larger warehouse to meet the need,” the Kerrville Salvation Army’s KROC Center said in its statement. “Please monitor our official communication channels and social media for updates on current needs and resource requests.”

As of press time, the floods have claimed the lives of 105 people, including 28 children at Camp Mystic, an all-girl Christian camp located along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, according to CNN.

Fraudsters have already attempted to take advantage of the tragedy, and some have even reached out promising to return missing children for a fee, according to Kerrville city officials. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Antonio warned area residents to be on the looking for those using phone calls, texts, email or even door-knocking visits to defraud those affected by the storm or looking to assist its victims.

In his statement, Sakai encouraged people focus their donations on the following vetted organizations:

Kerr County Relief Fund
 Funds go towards rescue and recovery efforts.

Salvation Army of Kerrville
Donations will help with humanitarian needs, including shelter and supplies.

Red Cross of Central and South Texas
Contributions will go towards food, supplies, shelter and mental health support.

Mercy Chefs
Donations will help cover the cost of meals for first responders.

TEXSAR
To help pay for search and rescue efforts.

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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 9, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.