Disaster Relief

Friday, October 20th

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, the earthquake in Mexico, and the wildfires in California have left devastation in their wakes. Millions of people have been affected by these disasters, many living without clean water, electricity or somewhere to call home.

IF YOU WANT TO HELP:

Financial Donations:

The United Ways’ Northern California Wildfire Relief and Recovery Fund has been established to provide immediate and long-term recovery assistance to California North Bay residents affected by the wildfires that have spread throughout the region. Working together, United Way of the Wine Country and United Way Bay Area will assist the residents and community agencies in Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Lake, and Mendocino counties.

United Way Worldwide has established three Disaster Recovery Funds to aid in local recovery efforts following Hurricanes Harvey, Maria, Irma and the earthquake in Mexico: https://www.unitedway.org/recovery.

Volunteer/Resources:

To connect to national organizations seeking volunteers: National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD), www.nvoad.org

Food/Supplies:

**It is better to send cash donations instead of having to transport and store items at great expense. Quite often, survivors do not need or can’t use goods that are donated by generous fellow citizens. Organizations that receive unsolicited donations have to take time to catalogue and store such materials, which takes valuable time away from working on urgent needs.**

Island Harvest: (631) 873-4775 / http://www.islandharvest.org/get-involved/contribute-funds/contributenow/hurricane-information

Village of Hempstead / Hempstead Hispanic Civic Association: (516) 292-0007 ext 101 / https://www.villageofhempstead.org/ 

Empire State Relief and Recovery Effort for Puerto Rico: https://www.ny.gov/programs/empire-state-relief-and-recovery-effort-puerto-rico-and-us-virgin-islands

If YOU NEED HELP:

2-1-1 across all affected areas is operational. If someone you know needs help, they can call 2-1-1, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There may be a wait, but calls will be answered. In case of emergency, dial 9-1-1.

2-1-1 is a free, confidential service that connects people from all communities to essential health and human services—24 hours a day, seven days a week. 2-1-1 will remain open and ready to provide local information about evacuation routes, shelters, food and water, health resources, and other needs throughout the storm.