How to Support Hurricane Relief

October 5, 2022

Hurricane

The Atlantic hurricane season has been destructive since the arrival of Hurricanes Fiona and Ian in September. In Puerto Rico, Hurricane Fiona made landfall in the island’s southwest region on September 18 as a Category 1 storm. Over 100,000 people in Puerto Rico are still waiting for power to be restored two weeks after the hurricane caused massive flooding and mudslides. In Florida, Hurricane Ian made landfall on September 28 as a Category 4 storm, producing winds of 150 miles per hour. The unprecedented flooding has devastated many coastal communities, leaving more than 600,000 homes and businesses without power. Both hurricanes have left communities struggling to find shelter and access to essentials like clean water.

How to Help
In response to these natural disasters, the CCF community may be wondering how best to support relief efforts. Listed below are organizations that are providing disaster relief and aid to communities impacted by the hurricanes.

American Red Cross is working in Puerto Rico to provide comfort kits, meals, and health services. In Florida, the organization opened more than 30 emergency shelters across the state for those seeking refuge. They are also providing meals and medical supplies.
The CDP Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund supports initiatives that prioritize communities devastated by Atlantic hurricanes, especially those facing systemic barriers to equitable recovery. The Fund focuses on meeting medium- and long-term needs from Hurricanes Ian and Fiona. This includes rebuilding homes and livelihoods, mental health services, and other challenges identified by communities that arise as recovery efforts progress.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is partnering with a local parish based in Fort Myers, Florida, to ensure families in need affected by Hurricane Ian receive essential supplies. The parish is located at the heart of a vibrant Latino community that was absolutely devastated, and where residents — many of them indigenous Mayan immigrants from Guatemala — were struggling to make ends meet even before the storm.
The Collier Community Foundation, located in the hard-hit city of Naples, reactivated its Collier Comes Together Hurricane Fund to assist Hurricane Ian victims. The fund allows the Foundation to act quickly to ensure immediate aid is provided where needed most. 100% of donations are distributed to southwest Florida area nonprofits serving individuals and their families.
Direct Relief is delivering essential medicines, oxygen concentrators, insulin, field medic packs, hygiene kits, water purification tablets, and solar power chargers to health facilities across Puerto Rico. In Florida, the organization is coordinating multiple rapid response shipments of medical aid across the state and will continue to respond to requests in the coming days and weeks.
Hispanic Federation is providing emergency relief services and essential supplies to the communities most affected by Hurricane Fiona through their Hurricane Relief Fund. They work through their network of community-based nonprofits in Puerto Rico serving Latino and immigrant communities to provide essential disaster relief services to those most in need.
International Medical Corps launched an integrated response to Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico, delivering mental health services, food vouchers, nutrition counseling and critical relief items to communities, health facilities and local organizations most affected by the storm. In Florida, they deployed a mobile medical unit to Port Charlotte, one of the hardest-hit areas along the Gulf coast. The unit will provide outpatient services meeting communities’ urgent medical needs, with the capacity to see up to 100 patients per day.
Team Rubicon deployed veteran-led volunteers, known as Grayshirts, in both Puerto Rico and Florida. The volunteers are working in affected areas to assist homeowners with emergency home repairs such as roof tarping, flood, and debris removal, and more.
World Central Kitchen’s relief team is on the ground providing nourishing meals and water to hard-hit communities. To date they have served more than 405,000 meals to families in all regions impacted by Hurricane Fiona and are scaling up their Relief Kitchen efforts in Florida in response to Hurricane Ian.

CCF fundholders who wish to support these efforts through their donor advised fund may make grants directly on DonorConnect. For any questions, please contact your Relationship Manager or email DonorRelations@calfund.org.

TAGS: giving, philanthropy

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