Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund

Three weeks ago, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Rockport, Texas as a category 4 storm. People throughout the state lost homes, cars, and power.

Your donation was sent quickly to meet survivors’ immediate needs. The Fuel Relief Fund provided fuel to thousands of people in Texas just days after Harvey made landfall. This fuel was used to power emergency vehicles, police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances, as well as Texans’ cars so they could leave the area. In Rockport and Port Aransas, where there were no working gas stations after the storm, Fuel Relief Fund gave away nearly 16,000 gallons of gasoline and 1,750 gallons of diesel. In Silsbee, a town severely affected by the floods, they gave away almost 3,500 gallons of gasoline and 300 gallons of diesel.

“Fuel Relief Fund came to our small town during Hurricane Harvey when we were desperate for fuel,” said Staci, who received fuel from the Fund. “Our emergency vehicles needed fuel to take care of our community. We appreciate them more than anyone could ever know. I will forever remember you! Thank you guys for taking time away from your families to take care of our families.”

Fuel was not only necessary for vehicles, but also for many people who solely relied on generators to power their homes. As we’ve seen from the news coming out of Florida this past week, power outages can be dangerous and even deadly after a disaster.

The incredible fuel distribution effort was powered by volunteers who worked tirelessly all day, mostly sleeping in their cars or trucks.  Watch  a short video of their Harvey work here.

Most fuel stations in the affected areas in Texas have now opened and citizens and local first responders are able to get fuel. Fuel Relief Fund has moved on to work in Florida after Hurricane Irma, but the residents of Texas won’t forget your support.

Many of our partners are still hard at work in Texas and starting to think about the medium- and long-term recovery.  Even as the Harvey headlines fade in the coming weeks and months, we’ll continue to report on the vital work made possible by your generous donation.

Thank you,

Britt + the GlobalGiving team

In the seven days since Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Texas, its lashing winds, torrential rain, and catastrophic flooding have wrought countless scenes of devastation and heartbreak. We've seen thousands of homes destroyed, entire neighborhoods submerged, and families huddled on the roofs of the homes and the hoods of their cars to escape rising flood waters.

But alongside those harrowing images none of us will soon forget, the last seven days have shown us something else as well, something more powerful and lasting than any storm: the inherent goodness of people from every corner in the world, eager to help those in need.

We've seen first responders—some official, some not—navigating neighborhoods in boats, rescuing families trapped by the flooding. We've seen people readily opening their homes to strangers driven from theirs. And here at our office in Washington, D.C., we've witnessed, once again, the overwhelming generosity and empathy of our community of GlobalGivers like you.

In these past seven days, more than 20,000 of you have come together to raise $1.9 million to support relief and recovery efforts in South Texas, and today we've just sent our first round of funding from the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund to a group of seven vetted, local nonprofits delivering vital aid to survivors. Your donations have gone to support:

• Operation and coordination at the NRG Center Emergency Shelter, providing immediate necessities like food, water, shelter, and clothing to thousands of displaced families. BakerRipley is working with  Harris County and the City of Houston to make this possible.
• A foster program for displaced dogs and cats until they can be reunited with their families. Families forced from their homes by the flooding are discovering that temporary shelters can't admit their pets, and the Humane Society of Dallas County is coordinating their care.
• Food, water, and emergency supplies for evacuees. The Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley has already sent six trucks full of more than 100,000 pounds of food, water, and emergency supplies to 3,000 evacuees in the Corpus Christi and Port Aransas area. The Houston Food Bank is already making plans for supporting area residents over the coming months as the rebuilding process gets underway.
• Diapers, wipes, and pull-ups from the Texas Diaper Bank. This is an often overlooked need of families forced into temporary shelters. The lack of diapers can compound the problems already facing infants, children with disabilities, and seniors impacted by the flooding.
• Cash grants. Circle of Health International is based in Texas, and their small but nimble team is providing cash grants to vulnerable women and their families to cover emergency housing and transportation costs, as well as medical supplies and transportation for medically fragile children. One of the grants went to this mother left homeless by the storm who delivered her baby girl on Tuesday morning. With your support she won’t need to stay in a shelter with her newborn.
• Gasoline and diesel fuel for evacuees and first responders. Fuel Relief Fund is providing free fuel in the flooded region to help first responders to reach flood survivors. They’re also providing power generators to bring electricity back to a region where hundreds of thousands are without power.

It's likely we'll continue to see more scenes of the destruction Harvey has caused across the Gulf Coast in the days and weeks to come. The flood waters will eventually recede, but the tide of compassion and generosity you've created will continue to rise, helping the communities impacted by Harvey recover and rebuild. And stay tuned—we'll be keeping you updated with regular reports about the impact of your donation and the progress being made by our partners on the ground.

Thank you again for your generosity,

Britt and the entire GlobalGiving team