Hurricane Irma Relief Fund

This week marks one year since Hurricane Irma unleashed 160 mph winds and torrential rains across the Caribbean, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The storm claimed more than 100 lives and its catastrophic damage made it the fifth-costliest tropical cyclone in history.

Our community-led nonprofit partners quickly responded, and they've remained hard at work over the past year, striving toward a complete recovery with generous support from GlobalGivers like you. To date, 14,404 of you have raised an incredible $2.9 million to support 12 vetted nonprofits that provided emergency relief in the days and weeks following Hurricane Irma and have now transitioned into long-term recovery work.

To mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma and support crucial ongoing recovery efforts, we're launching a matching campaign that will provide a 100% match to donations to our vetted nonprofit partners continuing to help the people of the Caribbean recover and rebuild.

Since our last report, your donation has provided vital support to a wide range of long-term recovery work, with a focus on repairing and replacing damaged homes, reopening schools, and improving the ability of communities to withstand future storms:

• Project Promise is repairing and renovating their 1,110 square-foot working classroom and community space that hosts a range of programs serving at-risk youth and their families in St. Croix.
• St. Croix Foundation for Community Development is organizing a consortium for nonprofits across the Virgin Islands focused on strengthening the sector and expanding its capacity to effectively respond to future natural disasters.
• In the British Virgin Islands, Team Rubicon Global is rebuilding and outfitting community centers which double as emergency shelters during storms and working to improve coordination between nonprofits and government agencies.
• Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI)’s Jr. Angels Program is involving youth in local philanthropy, working with them to identify community needs, propose solutions, and explore funding options. CFVI is also coordinating volunteer opportunities for local high school students to provide community service at local nonprofits involved with recovery efforts.
• On the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, the Barbuda Recovery & Conservation Trust, with the Waitt Institute and International Community Foundation, is building and installing storm shutters for more than 100 homes, and the Antigua and Barbuda Students Association is rebuilding and repairing damaged schools and stocking their classrooms with new supplies.

Thank you again for your generous support of our Hurricane Irma Relief Fund, and for making the smart decision to donate cash to fund an effective, community-led approach to disaster recovery. We'll be back in your inbox in the coming months with more stories of progress toward a full recovery for people throughout the Caribbean.

Warmly,
Will Frechette + the GlobalGiving Team

It’s been nearly eight months since Hurricane Irma left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean, and while first responders from larger NGOs have mostly departed affected areas, the focus of the community-led organizations that remain at work has shifted to long-term recovery. Your generous donation to our Hurricane Irma Relief Fund continues to support those locally driven organizations that understand their community’s needs and are able to effectively lead ongoing recovery efforts.

In this update, I’d like to report on the work of four organizations that your donation has helped fund over the last several months across the Caribbean.

After the St. Croix Montessori School suffered significant damage from Hurricanes Maria and Irma, the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development set to work coordinating building repairs and an expansion of the school’s programs to serve an influx of students from across the Virgin Islands. With support from GlobalGiving donors, they’ve been able to repair and reopen the school, run educational workshops for parents, and organize 100 volunteers to build a new playground from recycled downed trees, telephone poles, and tires to provide a beautiful, inspiring place for children in St. Croix to play for years to come.

Fishing for Families in Need partnered with local leaders on the island of St. John in the Virgin Islands to assess the community’s recovery needs and supported repairs to the Gifft Hill School and funded direct micro-grants to affected families.

When natural disasters like Hurricane Irma hit, hygiene and sanitation supplies play a vital role in stopping the spread of disease. Jake’s Diapers has worked with partners in Haiti to deliver more than 4,900 cloth diapers to maternal health clinics, 3,900 disposable diapers for use in neonatal intensive care units, and more than 1,200 adult hygiene supplies to stock a cholera treatment center.

Team Rubicon Global’s volunteer network of military veterans deployed to seven Caribbean islands in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria—some teams arrived as soon as 48 hours after landfall—and delivered emergency supplies and aid to more than 24,000 survivors. In recent months, their teams have returned to the islands to train and equip community volunteers to develop community-level disaster response plans and improve the resilience and sustainability of local infrastructure ahead of future storms. 

Thank you again for your generous support of these and more than a dozen other vetted GlobalGiving partners committed to a full, community-led recovery across the Caribbean after Hurricane Irma. Watch for more stories of progress in your inbox in the coming months!

Warmly,
Rachel + the GlobalGiving Team