After two devastating hurricanes affected millions of Americans from Texas to Florida, many of us are wondering how we can help. The Unitarian Universalist Association has established two separate UU hurricane relief funds to assist UU congregations and members who were affected, as well as vulnerable populations within those communities.

Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund

The UUA joined with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) to establish the Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund.

Half of all funds raised will go to at-risk populations served by UUSC partners and the other half of the funds will support Unitarian Universalist congregations and members of those congregations most affected by the storm. UUA staff are working closely with leaders in the Association’s Southern Region to learn where the need is greatest and distribute funds efficiently.

UUSC is supporting long-time partner RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), a Texas-based organization that provides direct legal services and education on the rights of immigrants. In the aftermath of Harvey, it is crucial that immigrant communities—documented and undocumented—know their rights and have access to legal services.

Hurricane Irma Recovery Fund

With Hurricane Irma—the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever recorded—barreling across Florida after devastating parts of the Caribbean, there is likely to be significant damage similar to what Hurricane Harvey inflicted. We know that long after the initial clean-up, real recovery can take months or years.

The UUA stands with its congregations which have been impacted by these natural disasters and has established a Hurricane Irma Recovery Fund to assist congregations in repairing any damage, and to respond to the needs of their members’ and their community’s efforts to get back on its feet. UUA staff is working closely with leaders in the Association’s Southern Region, to ascertain where the need is greatest and distribute funds efficiently.

UU hurricane relief: How we can help

Over the next few weeks, Harmony UU will be collecting donations from members and friends who want to contribute to either or both funds, and send them on to the UUA. You can drop them in our donations box at the back of the fellowship hall.

If you’d prefer to donate directly, you can give online via the UUA website (Harvey or Irma). If you prefer to donate by mail, please make your check payable to the UUA with “Irma Recovery Fund” or “Harvey Recovery Fund” on the memo line, and send to UUA Gift Processing, 24 Farnsworth St, Boston, MA 02210. To support both the Irma and Harvey recovery funds, you may send one check with a note indicating how much to allocate to each fund.