By Chase Williams | Program Officer
On August 27, Hurricane Laura made its devastating landfall in southwestern Louisiana as a powerful Category Four storm after passing through the Caribbean, tragically leaving more than 70 people dead. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the hurricane further exacerbated the extreme uncertainty and marginalization facing communities, especially communities of color facing disproportionate impacts from the virus, in the Lake Charles area of Louisiana.
Almost a month later, impacted communities are still in great need. Many thousands of families remain without power and clean water in southwestern Louisiana. The storm has also displaced thousands of Louisiana residents. The vast majority of these evacuees are currently residing in New Orleans in temporary accommodations, and are facing severe obstacles in receiving the holistic support that they need.
Within one week of the storm making landfall, GlobalGiving swiftly issued emergency grant support to two of our trusted nonprofit partners on the frontlines. This quick action is a direct result of your generosity and support of our Hurricane Laura Relief Fund. Here is a snapshot of how your donation has helped communities in Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Laura:
All of this critical work has been made possible by your donation. In the next two weeks, we will make additional emergency grants to support those affected by Hurricane Laura, including evacuees in New Orleans. Additionally, through GlobalGiving’s crisis response partnership with Facebook, we will support other communities impacted by Hurricane Laura with our local nonprofit partners in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Thank you for coming together with more than 500 people to fuel these critical relief efforts. We will be back in your inbox by the end of October to keep you updated on how your donation is making a difference.
With gratitude,
Chase + the GlobalGiving Team
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When a disaster strikes, recovery efforts led by people who live and work in affected communities are often overlooked and underfunded. GlobalGiving is changing this reality. Since 2004, we've been shifting decision-making power to crises-affected communities through trust-based grantmaking and support.
We make it easy, quick, and safe to support people on the ground who understand needs in their communities better than anyone else.
They were there long before the news cameras arrived, and they’ll be there long after the cameras leave. They know how to make their communities more resilient to future disasters, and they’re already hard at work. GlobalGiving puts donations and grants directly into their hands. Because the status quo—which gives the vast majority of funding to a few large organizations—doesn’t make sense.
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