Disaster Relief

Given the recent string of catastrophic events, amplified by nonstop media coverage, you certainly can’t fault people for beginning to feel compassion fatigue. After making personal or workplace donations to charities helping out in Texas, the Caribbean, Florida and elsewhere, it’s understandable that donors might begin to feel worn out...

Churches, synagogues and mosques became literal shelters in the storm, as Harvey and Irma ravaged East Texas, Florida and the Caribbean. Faithful volunteers clocked tens of thousands of hours to help victims. Some churches even served as staging areas and distribution centers for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). But what happens when the places of…

Because I work for a disaster relief agency that also provides a variety of other important daily services, I am always interested in studying why certain donors only give for disaster relief. On a small sample, I noticed that more than 4,000 of our donors gave for the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in 2005, but did not give in subsequent years...

If you're one of thousands of Harvey-ravaged Houstonians who could use a handout from Houston Texan J.J. Watt's hurricane relief fund, you're going to have to wait a little longer. While the J.J. Watt Foundation raised a mindblowing $33 million in two weeks, a foundation spokesperson said there's currently no long-term plan in place for…

In the past three weeks, we’ve felt the fury of two record-breaking hurricanes and a magnitude 8.1 earthquake. The consecutive disasters devastated large parts of Texas, Mexico, the Caribbean and the Florida Keys. Photo and video tell the story far better than words...

A cadre of Hollywood celebrities gave passionate speeches, moving performances and hit the phones on Tuesday at a live televised telethon to raise funds for the survivors and victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Celebrities including George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Hanks, Beyonce, Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato came together at…

The White House on Wednesday listed 12 charities that will receive personal donations from President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, who pledged last week to donate $1 million for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The largest contributions will go to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, which are each set to receive $300,000 according…

President Trump and his re-election campaign have decided to cancel fundraisers scheduled this fall in Texas as the state recovers from Hurricane Harvey. Trump was originally scheduled to hold a fundraising event in Dallas the end of September, while Vice President Mike Pence was slotted to attend fundraisers in San Antonio and Houston the beginning…

As Tropical Storm Harvey continues to inundate the Texas Gulf Coast, Facebook users have one more reason to donate to relief efforts. Facebook announced Tuesday that it would match the Harvey disaster relief funds raised by its users up to $1 million. To contribute match-eligible funds to Harvey recovery efforts on the platform, Facebook users…

First of all, let me add my thoughts and prayers to those who lost their home and everything else after Hurricane Harvey. And I know we’re not out of the woods yet, with other storms coming near. Fortunately, there are many wonderful experienced organizations on the ground to help the victims. And, of course, fundraising activities have ramped up. People are literally walking in the door with donations...