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CNN Larry King Live

How you can help those devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Aired September 03, 2005 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SHRIVER: Thank you for having us here. There are a lot of people volunteering here at the Red Cross Center. They're averaging about 1,000 calls a day. People are coming here to get trained. They've condensed the training session so you can go through it in one day. I just met a couple of nurses who are hoping to go down there for nine days to work.
So, they are getting lots of donations. They're getting a lot of people who want to volunteer to help and who are reaching out. And, I think people in California, even though we're quite far away from the affected areas, I'm very proud of the way the people in this state have reached out to volunteer, to donate money.

I'm here with Chancellor Reed, who is the head of the largest education, higher education system in the country, the U.C. schools and he's been very innovative in reaching out and saying to students "You can come here if you can't go to school there."

You were saying already you've enrolled students. Two hundred people called today to try to get into the schools here. So, I think people -- you're talking about how people want to help and I think everywhere you go, people want to feel empowered. They want to reach out and very much so here in California.

KING: Can Chancellor Reed hear me?

CHARLES B. REED, USC CHANCELLOR: Yes.

SHRIVER: Yes.

KING: All, right Chancellor Reed, you're doing what, you're taking students from the affected areas?

REED: We are. There are about 30,000 students affected in the Gulf Coast. In the last 24 hours we've accepted over 200 students and we are waiving the out of state fees. But also, there are a lot of California students that we need to accommodate.

In addition to that, Larry, we were asked today by the maritime administration if we would consider sending our ship to New Orleans, which can house about 750 people. It can feed those people, generate about 40,000 gallons of fresh water every two, two megawatts of power, so we're doing that.

In addition to that, we will house people from the Gulf Coast. Tonight, we were asked at San Diego State University to house 600. I was in San Jose this morning looking at a facility there that we could probably use.

So, we're trying to do that and also help faculty members. There are going to be a lot of faculty members out of work, so we would like to have them be visiting faculty members for the next year and maybe help those faculty.

SHRIVER: And also, Larry, they're talking to teachers who are in the K-12 system here as well taking students into that system. I've spoken with teachers and they're standing here ready with open arms to accept families who have nowhere to educate their kids.

KING: Families...

SHRIVER: And also the medical schools here as well.

KING: I know, Maria, family preparedness for disasters is a big concept of yours, right?

SHRIVER: That's true. Actually, right after Arnold was elected I met with Marty Evans. We toured the fire areas here and one of the first things she said to me is you could be a great help because California is a disaster prone state. Seventy percent of the people who live here do not have a family plan.

And so, we've set about in the last two years of really working, bringing all the different agencies together and creating a disaster family awareness program. We tell people the things that they can and should do.

This is a great weekend, Larry, for parents to sit down with their kids and talk to them about disasters, about how they should behave, about what they need in the family, how they should be prepared.

I think it's also another great time, Larry, to talk to our kids about some of the things they're seeing on television. I've been trying to sit with my kids and ask them about how they feel when they see these images. It's a great chance to talk to them about poverty, about race, about compassion, about empathy.

And, just coming here tonight, I met a great young lady here. She's five years old. Her name is Symphony (ph) and she had been saving up money, I just want to show you this, to buy herself a bed and she said to her mother after watching these images, "Look, I want a new bed but these kids don't have a bed at all, so I want to bring my money down to the Red Cross and donate it so some of the children who have no bed can actually have a bed."

And, I just think it's really extraordinary and there are so many young people like her and it's really, as Marty and I were talking this morning, a great teaching moment I think for those of us who are parents as we sit around and try to talk to our kids about this moment, about how to be prepared and we're doing a tremendous amount on that subject here in California.

And, in keeping with also some of the things you're talking about, how people can help, some kids haven't saved up money. They maybe aren't the best lemonade makers in the world. There's also things you can donate things to eBay. They're having huge auctions to donate money to a lot of the organizations you're talking about, so many great California companies.

From Walt Disney we made these great backpacks, I don't have any here with me, with Safeway. They're going to send about 10,000 of them down to the affected areas and I really hope that they help there and I hope to remind Californians that we do live in a disaster prone state and, as we've seen, the first several days are critical to being responsible yourself and to try to have as much as you can on hand.

REED: Larry, our students that are showing up here are only showing up with a backpack, no clothes. They got out just with a backpack on or maybe a garbage bag that they were able to stuff something in. That's the way they're showing up on our campuses and so we have to help even clothe the students who are coming here.

KING: And, Dr. Reed, those people in New Orleans they're not going to get educated this semester are they I mean in any grade?

REED: No.

KING: It doesn't look like it. There are no schools operating.

REED: That's right and not only for a semester but, you know, we'll plan for a year to try to take students on a temporary basis.

KING: The state has this money, Maria?

SHRIVER: Well, you'd have to probably ask Arnold that. I think, you know, certainly everybody's coming together. Everybody understands that this is a disaster beyond anybody's wildest imaginations and I think everybody is trying to find how they're able to help and trying to find the money to do so. I don't know, do you have the money?

REED: The governor -- the governor was very willing to allow us to waive the out of state fee cost, has asked his office in Washington to work with the financial aid people to try to get some additional financial aid to these students and so we'll work through the governor's office to do that. Everybody here is pitching in.

KING: That's great. Maria, thank you so much.

SHRIVER: I think the other thing, Larry...

KING: Do you want to add something?

SHRIVER: Oh, I just wanted to say that several of the teachers that I spoke with yesterday they said "We don't maybe have the money. We'll find the money. We want people to know that we welcome them with open arms."

KING: Thank you, Maria, and thank you so much Dr. Reed. SHRIVER: Symphony.

REED: Thanks.

SHRIVER: Always good -- thank you, Symphony too.

We'll take a break and be back with more of how you can help. Remember if you joined us late, all of this will be repeated an hour from now with a full three hours repeated internationally and on radio and, of course, on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: This special is called "How you can Help?"

Governor Kathleen Blanco, who was with the president yesterday, the governor of Louisiana is with us. What are you saying to people about how they can help, governor? That's our theme tonight.

GOV. KATHLEEN BABINEAUX BLANCO, LOUISIANA: Well, Larry, I'm so grateful that so many people across the country are working with us. I've gotten calls from governors all across the state -- all across the country. And, I just heard Maria Schwarzenegger and certainly I've talked to Governor Schwarzenegger as well.

This is a magnificent country. Everybody across our nation and people across the world are reaching out to people of Louisiana. These are our dark days, Larry, but we know that we're going to rebuild and restore and come back stronger but in the meantime I just appreciate the fact that so many people are wanting to help. It just -- it's going to make us rebuild ourselves much, much more quickly.

We've created a foundation through my office. It's called the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and we know that it's going to take a long time to stabilize and restore families, to get them back to something that feels normal to them.

These are abnormal situations, you know. The forces of nature take us from being able to control our own lives, our own destinies. We all want to feel like we're in control.

But, this foundation will help us with family restoration efforts. It will help us to get children back into school, to put up educational institutions, strengthen them with housing, healthcare, legal assistance and jobs. And we have a website also, Larry.

KING: How do people -- how do people -- yes, what's the website?

BLANCO: It's www.louisiana.gov, G-O-V, and we've got many, many people, President George Bush, George Herbert Bush and President Clinton, two former presidents of the United States are also working with us. There's just an outpouring of...

KING: Let me repeat the... BLANCO: Certainly.

KING: Thank you, governor. Thanks for appearing with us.

BLANCO: WWW.

KING: Yes, www.louisiana.gov.

BLANCO: Louisiana.gov.

KING: Thank you so much governor.

BLANCO: Right.

KING: We salute you and thank you for all you've done.

BLANCO: Thank you, Larry.

KING: Herculean efforts here through all of this.

BLANCO: Thank you for your voice of reason.

KING: Oh, thank you. Joining us now in our studios...

BLANCO: That not everybody has demonstrated.

KING: ...is an old friend, an NBA legend, the magic man, Earvin Magic Johnson, Vice President and co-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and the founder of the "Magic" Johnson Foundation.

We announced when we began today that Kobe Bryant donated $100,000. He contacted us before the show. What are you doing? What is your company, what's going on with the Magic folk?

EARVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Well, first of all, I'm definitely following the governor's disaster fund. I've given already, donated 5,000 pairs of shoes because if you look on the Post the other day they had a young man on there with cardboard taped to his feet and that's what he had to wear, so we're going to do shoes. We're going to do money.

We're also going to feed because a lot of the people are housed in Dallas, I have 16 Burger Kings there, we're going to feed them. We'll have some theaters in Houston, we're going to take them to the movies in Houston.

So, between a lot of different things and also we're going to have some fundraisers to donate money to not only the Red Cross but also to the governor's disaster fund because...

KING: The Lakers are giving too right, the team?

JOHNSON: Yes, the Lakers already given as a team, so we're all going to reach out in different ways. And then we need also, the governor -- they need clothes. They need books. So, we need a lot of different things. And I was happy to hear that Maria was on talking about taking these young people and putting them in college because that's important. But I also think that while they're sitting in these big domes a lot of these young people, hopefully some of the teachers in those different cities can volunteer because those young people don't need to be sitting around and losing a year and hopefully we can hold some classes right there.

KING: Magic we're being joined on the phone now by our friend, former President Bill Clinton. Where are you tonight president, Mr. President, where are you?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (by telephone): Hello, Larry. Hello, Magic. Hi.

I'm in New York. I'm home but I've been on the phone all day long to Louisiana and to people around the country wanting to help. I talked to probably about 50 African American leaders around the country who want to help people in the New Orleans area and throughout Mississippi and Alabama, church leaders and others who are trying to get assistance in there.

It's been very moving to see what's happening and I'm relieved that people are finally out of the Superdome, so I think you know we're inching ahead and the next couple of days I think former President Bush and I will be able to announce some significant contributions, both in kind and cash to this effort and I hope we'll be able to do that, so we're doing what we can.

KING: You going to be in...

CLINTON: But I'm very grateful for you for what you're doing. I appreciate you putting the Bush/Clinton Fund up on your screen and I'm very grateful to my friend Magic Johnson, as always, for being there when we need him.

JOHNSON: Thanks.

KING: You're going to be in Houston I know on Monday and then you head to Asia and former President Bush will be with us on Monday night. What do you make of this whole occurrence? Could this have -- the levees, could something have been done? What's your read on this, Mr. President?

CLINTON: Well, I do believe we have to -- we probably have to wait a little bit for the emergency to die down and for us to deal with it before we know that. I know that in 1995, some people drowned and I know that we started a levee improvement program but whether they would ever have been able to sustain water at this level of power I don't know.

I heard the man from the Corps of Engineers, the officer saying he didn't believe they'd ever been designed to withstand this, so I can't say but I think the erosion of the wetlands played a role, lots of issues. But right now we need to get everybody to safety, get them food, get them water, get them decent shelter and start thinking about the future. That's what I'm working on. I know it's what Governor Blanco is working on.

I looked at her tonight on your program and it looks like she hasn't slept a wink in a week. She's working her heart out and I'm very gratified that she got my old FEMA Director James Lee Witt (ph) to agree to come and work on coordinating Louisiana's part of this.

I talked to James Lee earlier today and Hillary and I wished him well and he said he hadn't slept in over a day, so I know people are down there killing themselves trying to make a big difference here.

KING: What do you think about, I don't want to hold you a long time and I know how tired you must be, what do you think about the public's reaction to this, the extraordinary reaction we're getting tonight?

CLINTON: Well, the public is the way the American people always are. I mean they can see these people down there suffering and they know a lot of them are low income people. A lot of them are struggling, not just in New Orleans but in parishes around there and in Alabama and Mississippi and they just want to help.

I think it's been overwhelming to me that, you know, the American people are never a problem. They're always there when you need them. They're always there and the rich are, the poor are, the middle class are. We're coming forward.

The real question is getting the people -- getting everything organized and moving this thing in a hurry and making sure everyone is safe and in at least manageable living conditions while we work through the enormous logistical problems that are ahead.

KING: Finally, would you compare it to the tsunami?

CLINTON: Well, more people died in the tsunami and more people, a few more people maybe were dislocated but we're going to have probably a million people dislocated. I think that the important thing is that we just got to get organized and do what has to be done here so that we've got the federal, state and local governments, we got all the private NGOs, we got everybody working together.

Look at these pictures you're showing right now of these people. They deserve their lives back and we got to try to give it to them.

KING: They do.

CLINTON: We got a lot of rebuilding to do, a lot of small communities that most Americans have never heard of all the way up to New Orleans, one of our most important cities.

I was glad to see you had Harry Connick on there and delighted to hear what he said. Anybody who thinks that the people of New Orleans can't rebuild their city hasn't been paying attention to the history of the city for over 200 years now.

KING: Thank you, Mr. President. Have a safe trip here and to Asia. We hope to see you soon.

CLINTON: Bless you, Larry, and thank you and thank you Magic. Thank you both for what you're doing. Goodbye.

JOHNSON: Good talking to you.

KING: Thank you, President Bill Clinton. Former President Bush will be with us on Monday night.

Congratulations, Magic, on all you're doing.

JOHNSON: No, you know, this is -- this is America and we should always reach out to help others who whether they go through a disaster or they're less fortunate.

KING: I love the fact that you got Burger Kings. You feed people. You got movie theaters. You take them in.

JOHNSON: Yes, we also have taken some trucks full of food down there as well, some big rigs full of food. I reach out to all my partners, Albertson's, everybody and they all are going to help (INAUDIBLE) everybody.

KING: They don't come like you.

JOHNSON: Well, thank you. But, Larry, the most important thing is we have to have a plan. We didn't have a plan before and that's why all the help came later. Now we must have a plan on what we're going to do with these million people. We must have a plan for them now as well as later.

And so, I'm hoping that local, state and national government come together with a solid plan and then give us updates every day, every week of what's going to happen.

I think that hasn't happened yet and that's the thing that really disappointed me and upset me about this whole situation because if you look at 9/11 we had a tremendous plan and Mayor Giuliani jumped out there right from the get-go. They knew what the plan was. They followed that plan through and it was a wonderful situation that city rallied and came back together quickly.

Here that's not the case so far and so that's the only thing. The Red Cross is doing their job. Everybody is doing their job as far as money and donations but what is the plan for a million people who are homeless, who now feel that nobody really cares about them until now because they struggled for three days.

KING: I hope we can make it. Thank you, Magic.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

KING: Thank you, always good to see you.

JOHNSON: Good to see you again.

KING: We'll be back with more of how you can help, this special edition of LARRY KING LIVE right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We wanted to spend a few minutes with an old friend and a New Orleans native. Richard Simmons, how does this strike you?

RICHARD SIMMONS, EXERCISE GURU: Well, it's my home. It's my other mother and it's devastating. My brother and his wife Cathy (ph) evacuated two days before and we've lived through many, many hurricanes. We were on the floor one night looking up and half the roof fell off.

But they went to Natchitoches (ph), Louisiana where they're both right now helping with all the New Orleanians that are moving there and trying to find, you know, help there. You know it was devastating...

KING: Will your city recover?

SIMMONS: Oh, of course it's going to recover and, you know, Mr. King, you don't know how much money you've help raise tonight. You'll never really, really, really, really know. But when we rebuild the city of New Orleans we're going to name something very big after you.

KING: Oh, stop.

SIMMONS: I mean that seriously because today it's all about giving. My brother and I belong to Kiwanis. It's a wonderful international organization that helps people all over the world. I've been with them many, many years and my brother's been with them even more.

And, they have a 1-800-KIWANIS number and Kiwanis.org and we're just going to help and the minute I can get back to New Orleans because we could do fundraisers. We're going to build. You know New Orleans is the Venice, Italy of the world and it's a gem and I sold pralines on the street corner...

KING: No city like it.

SIMMONS: ...since I'm a little kid and we will, you know. The South will rise again. We will be bigger and better than ever. And I'm wondering if I could just have four seconds to say a prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for helping all these people in New Orleans and please give us enough strength and stamina and peace to all be together and make this work out. Amen.

KING: Thank you, Richard.

SIMMONS: Thank you. KING: Good friend, good guy, Richard Simmons.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in New Orleans. Where are you right now and what's the situation?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: New Orleans Airport. We've been trying to find some of these patients that we were with at Charity Hospital, one of the last hospitals to be evacuated here in New Orleans, a lot of them brought here to the New Orleans Airport now, a lot of them just sort of waiting around, Larry.

And that's sort of been the name of the game for a lot of patients, chronically ill patients, patients with heart disease, diabetes, not necessarily affected by the hurricane in terms of getting cuts or scrapes but just being separated from their medications and their homes. A lot of them are here. It's a tough situation for so many of them out here, Larry.

KING: Sanjay, you've been doing noble work. We'll check with you again tomorrow. We're kind of backed up here with this three hours.

How you can help is our subject tonight. That was Dr. Gupta.

Celine Dion is next.

As we go to break here's a special message from Terry Hatcher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY HATCHER: We've all been stunned by the pictures we've seen on the news of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I've been walking around thinking how can I help?

Well, here's how you can help. Give to the Red Cross and call 1- 800-HELP-NOW or visit the American Red Cross online at www.redcross.org. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joining us now is an old and dear friend, Celine Dion, the musical superstar. She's in her dressing room at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. She will go on stage in about a half hour. She and the director of her wonderful show, a show I've seen, Franco Dragone, have donated by the way, pledged $1 million to the American Red Cross.

What has been your response, Celine, to this? I especially ask this because you're French Canadian from Montreal and New Orleans is a mostly French city.

CELINE DION, SINGER: Correct and I've been there a few times. We've stayed there. I've, you know, filmed videos there and so Rene and I, we've been to New Orleans. And, I have to say, Larry, that and state it as the rest of the world if I may I was watching you behind, there's a television right now, I'm watching and I'm especially waiting like the rest of the world.

I'm waking up in the morning. I'm having a coffee. I barely can swallow it. I come here at Caesar's Palace every night to perform. I barely can sing. But for respect the people who come I am still singing. When I come home at night, my son is waiting for me. I watch television.

Yes, we gave $1 million but what we expect, what I want to look like the rest of the world, I open the television there's people still there waiting to be rescued and for me it's not acceptable. I know there's reasons for it. I'm sorry to say I'm being rude but I don't want to hear those reasons.

You know, some people are stealing and they're making a big deal out of it. Oh, they're stealing 20 pair of jeans or they're stealing television sets. Who cares? They're not going to go too far with it. Maybe those people are so poor, some of the people who do that they're so poor they've never touched anything in their lives. Let them touch those things for once.

The main thing right now it's not the people who are stealing. It's the people who are left there and they're watching helicopters flying over their heads and they're praying. How come it's so easy to send planes in another country to kill everyone in a second, to destroy lives?

We need to serve our country and for me to serve our country is to be there right now to rescue the rest of the people. We need the cash. We need the blood. We need the support. Right now we need the prayers.

You know when I was hearing a couple of days ago that these things are not reachable it's too full of water, maybe I'm too much like my -- I'm not thinking with my head. I'm talking with my heart. Nobody can open any roofs? The helicopters flying in take two people at a time, take a kayak. Go into those walls.

There's kids being raped at night. They hear gunshots, big guns, what's that? Those people are praying. They're walking. They're like this, hello, do you see us? We're still alive but we're dying. It's terrible.

KING: Celine.

DION: I do not want to talk to you about money.

KING: How do you explain it to your young son?

DION: Well, I have to (INADUIBLE).

KING: Are you OK?

DION: Yes, Rene Charles knows because sometimes he watches televisions with me and I'm saying to him those people went through a big storm and they will be fine because I know at the end they'll be fine and I hope and we're all praying for them. I'm trying not to put to Rene Charles something so dramatic and that's why I'm sorry for crying so hard because I'm holding it for the last week and I'm trying to tell my son that everything is going to be OK. But I see those mothers over there, they're like (INAUDIBLE).

KING: But look at this thins way, Celine, though a lot of people, we've been doing the show now for two and a half hours. We've been asking a lot of people how they can help, how you can help? A lot of people all over the world want to help. You gave $1 million.

You're going to help a lot of people live and survive. You should take great pride in that, one, that you've attained the ability to be able to do that, to be able to give $1 million. You should take pride in that.

DION: I understand it. I understand it's very important because eventually they will need that money but it's just very frustrating that Franco and (INAUDIBLE) and me oh $1 million. This is one thing.

In three months, in six months they will need that money. Right now they're praying for water so we need to send them the water. They don't care about my check. So, it's just frustrating because in our part of the world we're trying our best and we're expecting those people -- I'm sorry.

KING: Your check will turn into something. I know you got to go on soon but we couldn't spend any time with you without asking you, do you have any kind of thing you would like to sing that fits this moment? Is there any song?

DION: Oh, my gosh.

KING: Even if you did a little of it. I don't want to...

DION: Well, the only song that comes to my mind right now is definitely a prayer. I did sing that song a few weeks -- a few years back with Andrea Bocelli.

KING: Ah, yes.

DION: And I cannot think -- I cannot think about a song but a prayer. I will do my very best and I'll do my best.

(CELINE SINGS "THE PRAYER")

DION: God bless them all.

KING: Thank you, Celine. Celine Dion, she'll go on stage in 20 minutes. There's a trooper.

We'll be right back. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Again, you can always click into cnn.com for information about all of the organizations that you can help and the number for the ASPCA for information about animals is www.aspca.org/disaster or 866-275-3923.

With us in Houston, Texas is April Flowers. Her husband is Jose Torres. He's missing in New Orleans. Also missing are her sister Barbara and her sister's husband and children. She's holding up that sign. April, how did you get out?

APRIL FLOWERS, HUSBAND, SISTER, SISTER'S FAMILY MISSING IN NEW ORLEANS: Yes, sir. I got out with -- hitchhiked a ride all the way to Lake Charles and then wound up hitchhiking a ride with my four kids to Katy, Texas.

KING: Where is Jose?

FLOWERS: I don't know where is my husband at. I miss him. I need to find him. He was left (INAUDIBLE). I had left to go get my kids from their dad house. When I left from here the wind was picking up and I couldn't get back in time. The water was coming in because we live near the levee. We live near the...

KING: You have no idea where he is?

FLOWERS: No, no sir. No, I don't know. I don't know where my sister's at, yes, sir.

KING: Your sister, her husband and their children?

FLOWERS: Yes, I don't know.

KING: Do you all live in New Orleans, April?

FLOWERS: Yes, we all live in New Orleans. My sister was -- when she lived out there near (INADUIBLE) boulevard in New Orleans east she had -- water got so bad out there where she lived at that she went to a Vietnamese church called St. Mary's Catholic Church and the Vietnamese father had talked to somebody about getting them airlifted to the Superdome.

It's been almost a week now going on what is it like five days now and they're stuck in that church with 500 elderly Vietnamese people ranging from babies to 110 years old. They are in that church stuck and there's no water, no food. My little niece is 17 months old. I don't want nothing to happen to my sister. I love my family and I'm determined to find my family regardless where I have to look for them at. I'm not going to go find...

KING: Someone as determined as -- you're going to get them April. Don't you think she has a good chance? Don't you think, Nancy?

AOSSEY: Absolutely.

FLOWERS: I'm hoping so.

KING: Someone as determined as that.

AOSSEY: Not only are you determined, you're extremely brave and I really admire your courage and your spirit and I wish you really all the very best. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

KING: And also...

FLOWERS: Should I leave?

KING: Yes, what do you want to say April?

FLOWERS: I'm here in Copperfield (ph), Texas. If my sister Barbara Flowers or Jose Torres is watching then I'm alive and my number is 281-856-2273. They can contact the church where I'm at. It's Copperfield Baptist Church, North Highway 8350, Highway 6, North Houston, Texas.

KING: 281-856-2273, April Flowers for her husband Jose Torres, her sister Barbara, her sister's husband, her children, best of luck.

We'll be back with more right after this. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We got a sensational finish coming in a little while.

By the way, this program will be repeated at midnight Eastern, if you missed any part of it and at 4:00 a.m. Eastern, at midnight Eastern and at 4:00 a.m. Eastern.

Let's grab a quick phone call, Washington, hello.

CALLER FROM WASHINGTON: Hi, Larry. Thanks for taking my call.

KING: Sure, what's the question?

CALLER FROM WASHINGTON: Well, I'm a college student in Washington, D.C. and I have about seven friends and we don't necessarily have the most money to donate but we do have our time. So, what I'm wondering is if there's an organization or someone we can contact that would get in touch with families or individuals or anyone who would need, you know, volunteer (INAUDIBLE).

KING: Great question, Major Hood, doesn't have money but he's got seven guys?

HOOD: That's perfect and there's a number of charities that he can volunteer with. We have logged 7,000 new volunteers and I know the Red Cross is logging and training on a daily basis.

KING: So you can contact the Salvation Army.

HOOD: They can contact the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, Habitat, any one of these charities will be able to use students.

KING: Vancouver, British Columbia, hello.

CALLER FROM VANCOUVER: Yes, hi. I'd like to first of all extend my condolences to your whole nation, Mr. King.

KING: Thank you.

CALLER FROM VANCOUVER: I'm a lady who is also poor and I live on the west coast of Canada. I would love to help but I wonder if any of your organizations can suggest a way that an individual homebound like myself up here by my way could help?

KING: Bob Forney, got an idea?

FORNEY: I think Celine had one great idea and that's prayer. We can all do that and people are going to need a great deal of that. We get a lot of our support from the people that we support. They donate time. They can volunteer. There are food banks in Canada too that need your help. And all this stuff does eventually work out. One of the things that...

KING: Nancy, you have a thought? Hold on. We're running out of time -- Nancy.

AOSSEY: Well, I think, I think well first it's wonderful I think you called in and that you're offering to help and I agree. I think the best way would be locally to connect with an organization at the local level and to volunteer your time. That I think is the best way for you and there's probably many things that you could do to help at the local level and get aid to where it's needed.

KING: Jonathan Reckford.

RECKFORD: I would echo that as well, Larry. We stand ready with what we hope is a comprehensive solution and we'll be in as many of these markets as possible but the best way would be you can go to our website and find your local affiliate and find a way to get involved.

KING: John Hill.

HILL: Yes, sir. I just wanted to quickly point out that we had over five million registries in our database prior to this event happening.

KING: Wow.

HILL: We don't exist because this emergency happened. We exist when we are needed. I mean it's -- we're going to be here for a long time to come.

KING: Same with you all.

HILL: I want to just point out that...

KING: I'm running close on time.

HILL: ...Roger Castro (ph), one of our board members works for the United Way. He's working very hard toward establishing support for the Red Cross and the Rotary International and the government of Southern California so we hope that they'll be able to step up and help us.

KING: Larry Jones, final word.

JONES: Tomorrow, Larry, I'm going to meet with Billy Hunter, who is the CEO of the National Basketball Players Association. The working title is Operation Rebound. I'll be working with the NBA Players Association. I'd like to also say to other businesses and groups if you got specific things like the NBA Players Association wants to do, give us a call. Go to our website and we'll do specific things with you.

KING: Good deal.

JONES: Thank you.

KING: Mary Evans, final word.

EVANS: Well, Larry, we need volunteers at any of our Red Cross Chapters and you can get trained and you can help. And I want to say to our Canadian viewers that the Canadian Red Cross is also helping, as is the United Kingdom, the Red Cross from Britain. They are sending trained volunteers to help us. So, there's a way to help even if you're not in the U.S.

KING: When we come back we'll close out how you can help, this three-hour edition of LARRY KING LIVE with Irvin Mayfield, the Grammy award nominated jazz musician who is the artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. He's next.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Again, we're simulcast on CNN International and CNN Radio. All information can be obtained by logging onto cnn.com about all the organizations. The program will be repeated one hour from now at 12:00 midnight Eastern Time and repeated again at 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time on all of those outlets.

To close it out, Irvin Mayfield joins us from Baton Rouge. Irvin is the Grammy nominated jazz musician and composer, native of New Orleans, artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. He is called the city's cultural ambassador. Your father and brother still missing, Irvin?

IRVIN MAYFIELD, JAZZ MUSICIAN: That's correct. My dad and my brother were left in New Orleans and my dad was actually staying at the house, like many residents, when the hurricane came his response was, hey we've survived a hurricane and we've since lost contact with both of them.

KING: Boy, how did you get out?

MAYFIELD: Well, I was actually coming home from Indiana. I was going to a birthday party for my grandmother and I was with my in-laws and I was actually heading back to Baton Rouge.

And ironically enough I was wanting to come straight back to New Orleans and I didn't like the fact that I had to drive back from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. But by the time I came back on Sunday afternoon, we already found out that Katrina was looking to make a dead slam hit for New Orleans.

KING: You think New Orleans can rebound? I mean you're their ambassador.

MAYFIELD: Well, I think the question a lot of people have been asking me, you know, what do we do now? And how I answer that is well the first thing is New Orleans being such a great cultural Mecca, what we all have to do is we have to do what we know and we can use the sensibility of jazz to do that. That's what New Orleans is about.

Jazz has the properties of the blues in it, you know. Blues is a big part of jazz and blues always gives us the sentiment of it's bad right now but it's going to be better, you know. Even when you listen to a little blues, it makes you feel better and I think what we have to do is we have to rebuild. We have to do better, you know, and we can use the blues and jazz to do that.

KING: Irvin is asking for donations to help the New Orleans musicians who are middle to lower class citizens who probably lost everything. You know there are so many musicians in New Orleans who play in the street and who march in little bands around the streets and they need instruments and everything. And, if you want to help, their website is www.thenojo.com.

Irvin Mayfield, the city's cultural ambassador, the artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra has composed a composition for this disaster. It is called "Ninth Ward Blues." He will play it now to play us out of this program. Here's Irvin Mayfield.

MAYFIELD: Thanks, Larry. I'd like to also say that many of the musicians who we know, well-renowned musicians, are also displaced. I'm not going to say any of the names but I've had many calls. If you want to help, you can send us something to P.O. Box 82385, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884-2385.

(MAYFIELD PLAYS "NINTH WARD BLUES")

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