Dear Friends,
We hope you, your family, and your friends are safe in the aftermath of Tuesday morning’s earthquake. We’re especially keeping in mind our neighbors in the Eel River Valley, where the quake was most severely felt. But as we’re learning, the damage is being reported throughout our region. Additionally, a forecast of inclement weather means many of those whose homes were damaged face increased danger as the region recovers.
At the Foundation, we have activated our Community Response Team. We’re actively reaching out to contacts in healthcare organizations, nonprofit organizations, Tribal, county, and local governments, food banks, and more. Our priorities as a Foundation are ensuring our friends and neighbors are safe, addressing urgent and fundamental needs such as shelter, food, and water, and supporting those most vulnerable.
We thank our first responders for their bravery. As community members, we can support their efforts by checking on our neighbors, especially those in sensitive or precarious situations. Please check in with folks on medical devices and share referrals about where to stay warm, charge devices, and other vital resources. Lots of information about disaster recovery is available on social media and other media outlets, and only some have access to the internet during this time.
You can help support the community through the Disaster Response and Resilience Fund. Donations to the fund are deployed through responsive grantmaking in close collaboration with organizations that are deeply embedded in and know the needs of their communities in Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity and Curry counties. Thank you to all donors who have made gifts to the Disaster Response and Resilience Fund.
Grants will support urgent community needs identified by our partners to help those impacted most to get through and recover from this and future disasters and build a more resilient region. Applications and information for prospective grantees for the Disaster Fund can be submitted here.
To learn more about supporting the Disaster Response and Resilience Fund, contact our Donor Services team at donorservices@hafoundation.org.