From Caribbean Community Foundation

The 2017 hurricane season has been one of the most intense on record. In less than a month, islands throughout the Caribbean were hit with three Category 5 and one Category 4 storm that devastated the region. Places like Barbuda and St. Martin saw more than 95% of all structures destroyed, and tens of thousands have been made homeless or forced to evacuate on islands including Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Barbados, the Bahamas.

Damages in the Caribbean from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Jose already exceed $60 billion, and the impact of Hurricane Maria is only now becoming clear. The recovery process will be long and difficult in communities throughout the region . The organizations below provide immediate and long-term relief to affected residents. This list will be updated as more information and resources are available.

• Direct Relief International providing emergency medications and medical supplies to affected communities.
• International Medical Corps mobilizes staff and medical supplies to provide lifesaving care in the wake of disasters.
• Operation USA delivers needed supplies and assistance in communities hit hardest by natural disasters.
• Team Rubicon provides logistics, transport and emergency supplies for first-responder volunteers.
• Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico and Hispanics and Philanthropy have partnered to provide direct funding to local organisations working on the ground in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Florida.

When supporting relief organizations, consider marking your gift as general operating support. By doing so, you enable the organization to both respond to current disasters and be prepared for those that may arise in the future.

Contributions to the California Community Foundation represent irrevocable gifts subject to the legal and fiduciary control of the foundation’s board of directors. This charge will appear on your credit card statement as a payment to “Calif Comm Fdn – CCF”. In addition, California Community Foundation incurs a third-party administrative fee of 2.7 percent for credit card contributions. The foundation will charge the fee directly to the individual fund.