Episcopal Relief and Development

Episcopalians have an excellent agency for aiding those in immediate need, and staying involved as communities develop or rebuild. Episcopal Relief and Development has three ways to make very effective use of our donations: local contacts through Anglican Communion churches world-wide, facilitating aid to places such as Africa, and partners with local aid and development agencies.

ERD's Gifts for Life catalog has over 40 gifts and ideas to help others around the world during this holiday season. There are more ways than ever to work with ERD — and gifts and ideas to fit any budget, so anyone can help to make a meaningful impact in the world.  To order a catalog call 1.800.903.5544.

Right Now

1. On September 13 Hurricane Ike made landfall in the United States destroying the town of Galveston, Texas and smashing through the Gulf coast region. The Episcopal Diocese of Texas has been deeply affected by the storm. Episcopal Relief & Development is responding with funds to address immediate needs of vulnerable families. The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas has been impacted by evacuated populations. Twenty-one of their institutions are functioning as Red Cross shelters and network of more than two hundred volunteers will maintain the shelters for as long as they are needed. These churches offered meal programs and relief supplies including tarps and water. Episcopal Relief & Development is communicating with affected dioceses in Western Louisiana, Texas, West Texas and Arkansas and is providing critical assistance as the needs arise. Reports from the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana suggest that the damage caused by Hurricane Ike is significantly worse than Hurricane Rita. Clergy and parishioners have had their homes flooded. Hurricane Ike was the fifth storm of a devastating Atlantic hurricane season. Episcopal Relief & Development is continuing to respond to the destruction caused by recent hurricanes in Haiti and the Caribbean where over 200,000 are left homeless and over 800,000 people are in need of urgent aid.

 

2. Episcopal Relief & Development continues to support the recovery and clean up efforts in flood-ravaged communities throughout the Midwest. After the flooding, Episcopal Relief & Development partnered with the Diocese of Iowa to provide emergency assistance for affected individuals, including temporary shelter and rental assistance. Volunteer groups continue to clean out homes and have begun repairing those that can be salvaged, and now the diocese is working with Episcopal Relief & Development on the long term recovery plans. Peter Gudaitis, a consultant working with Episcopal Relief and Development, also traveled recently to the Diocese of Indianapolis to follow up on long term recovery programs for those impacted by the flooding. Throughout the Midwest, Episcopal Relief & Development has worked in tandem with the dioceses of Fond du Lac, Iowa, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Quincy and Missouri to assess needs, and respond to the concerns of those impacted by the flooding earlier this summer.

 

3. Episcopal Relief & Development is providing critical humanitarian assistance in Sudan in light of rising violence and the potential threat of renewed civil war. Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the Episcopal Church of Sudan Support Office to assist victims of violence and those fleeing their homes. Our emergency aid includes water, food, shelter and basic necessities. We stand ready to support the Church as it reaches out to those who are again facing instability and unrest in their land.

 

4. Episcopal Relief & Development continues to provide emergency assistance to communities devastated by Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar (Burma) on May 2nd. The entire Irrawaddy Delta Region, which is home to 21.5 million of Myanmar’s 53 million residents, has been declared a disaster zone. Working in partnership with the Anglican Church of the Province of Myanmar (CPM), Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting relief and recovery efforts. Prior to the cyclone, the agency was working with CPM on economic development, water and sanitation, education, agriculture and livestock programs. The cyclone has not impacted the continuation of these programs. CPM’s relief activities are centered in multiple remote villages in the township of Latputta in the delta region. From this base, staff are able to reach out to people in the most affected zone. CPM is the only resident agency operating in this area and is supporting medical care and other emergency services.

 

5. To highlight the global imbalance of wealth and to help direct the government's stimulus checks to people who can truly benefit from this money, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation (EGR) launched the “Give it 4 Good” campaign http://www.giveit4good.org/ to encourage people to give all or part of their stimulus check (or a similar amount for those who don’t qualify) to an organization working to advance the Millennium Development Goals, a set of benchmarks established by the international community to cut rates of global poverty. The “Give it 4 Good” campaign aims to redirect funds to organizations working to alleviate suffering while highlighting the unequal distribution of wealth in the world and the harmful environmental impacts of over-consumption and consumerism.

Website:

www.er-d.org - Episcopal Relief and Development

 

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has thousands of staff on the ground in Texas and Louisiana, offering shelter, food, and comfort to the millions of people affected by Hurricane Ike. In Texas, more than 2,000 Red Cross disaster workers saw more than 17,000 people seek refuge in 144 shelters. Throughout the Lone Star State, Red Cross has served more than 130,000 meals and snacks to people displaced by the storm. In Louisiana, almost 2,000 people were provided a safe haven in 19 shelters. About 1,900 Red Cross disaster workers have served more than one million meals and snacks to those feeling the affects of not only Hurricane Ike, but those still trying to recover from Hurricane Gustav.

The Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund is depleted. In the interim, we are borrowing money to cover the costs of the hurricanes of 2008. We have not cut any service delivery to disaster victims and do not expect to do so. All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Hurricanes of 2008, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation.

Website:

www.redcross.org - American Red Cross

 

“He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap.” Psalm 113:7