WASHINGTON—Several Catholic organizations have established emergency relief operations for the thousands of people affected by Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean and southeastern United States and for those still recovering from Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana.
Contributions can be made to:
* Catholic Charities USA: online at https://catholiccharitiesusa.org/donate-to-disaster-relief; telephone at 800-919-9338; mail to P.O. Box 17066, Baltimore, MD 21297-1066 and write “Hurricane Relief” in the memo line of the check.
* The Texas Catholic Conference is coordinating emergency services. A listing by diocese of where to give has been posted online at https://txcatholic.org/harvey.
* The Florida Catholic Conference’s website also has links to Catholic Charities agencies the Miami Archdiocese and Florida’s other six dioceses: https://www.flacathconf.org/hurricane-irma-response.
* Catholic Relief Services is taking donations for emergency shelter, water, and critical supplies for families in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Caribbean Islands: https://www.crs.org.
* Local dioceses are expected to initiate an emergency collection during weekend Masses Sept. 23-24 to help those recovering from devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean and the southeastern region of the United States. Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone asked parishes in the Diocese of Charleston, S.C., to take up collections as soon as possible, and encouraged people to respond with love and generosity. Parishes also took up earlier special collections for victims of Hurricane Harvey. Funds benefit Catholic Charities USA’s disaster relief efforts as well as pastoral and rebuilding support through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, www.usccb.org.
CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters: A destroyed trailer park is pictured Sept. 13 in an aerial photo in Florida’s Marathon Key.
