How you can help people on the islands
Charities and relief groups were already in overdrive responding to a punishing hurricane season when monster storm Maria ripped through the Caribbean last week.
The hurricane caused staggering damage in Dominica before moving on to Puerto Rico, where it left the U.S. territory in shambles — devastation so extensive that officials say it could take months for the island’s fragile power grid to be up and running and decades for the island to recover.
The storm also caused damage elsewhere in the Caribbean, including the U.S. Virgin Islands. You can donate to some of these groups helping storm victims:
Americares, a global health organization, has teams on the ground in Puerto Rico and Dominica. The group is working with the Puerto Rico Department of Health to stock emergency shelters in San Juan with medical equipment and supplies.
World Vision positioned supplies such as water and hygiene kits in warehouses near the communities in the path of the storm. The Christian humanitarian organization is working with local partners to distribute those supplies in Puerto Rico and beyond. uThe American Red
Cross has launched a multiisland relief effort with government officials and disaster partners in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Among the group’s efforts: deploying supplies such as water, rice, insect repellent and home repair kits and shipping satellite phones.
The Salvation Army is working with local and national partners such as UPS to send relief kits with water, food and other supplies to areas in need. In Puerto Rico, the group says it is delivering about 5,000 meals and 8,000 relief supplies a day.
The International Medical Corps is providing emergency medical care, access to clean water and proper sanitation to ward off cholera and other waterborne diseases.
All Hands Volunteers is sponsoring community projects in the Virgin Islands, such as clearing paths to natural springs so people who don’t have access to water can shower.
GoFundMe has created a centralized hub to host all campaigns for those in need after Maria. Campaigns include an initiative started by college students called Students with Puerto Rico.
Project HOPE, an international health care organization, has sent a team to Puerto Rico that includes doctors, nurses and mental health specialists to deliver medicine and supplies and offer health expertise and medical training.
The New York Foundling, one of New York’s oldest child-welfare agencies, is working to get the group’s 42 locations on Puerto Rico up and running again and able to distribute emergency supplies. The organization serves nearly 1,500 children through Head Start programs on the island that feed and educate children.