How to Help Puerto Rico, Caribbean in Wake of Hurricane Fiona Devastation

Homes are flooded on Salinas Beach after Hurricane Fiona passes in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Courtesy of The Associated Press.
Photographer — Alejandro Granadillo

Hurricane Fiona continues to weave a deadly and destructive path through the Caribbean after touching down in southwestern Puerto Rico on Sunday, Sept. 18, causing widespread flooding and leaving behind critical power and infrastructure damage.

President Biden has declared an emergency in Puerto Rico, calling on both the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate disaster relief efforts for residents of the U.S. territory.

Media outlets report most people in the storm’s path were left without power or water in the immediate aftermath.

Many of Puerto Rico’s 3.1 million residents still were recovering from when Hurricane Maria slammed the island in 2017, causing widespread infrastructure damage, leveling homes and killing thousands.

Amy Fair, Vice President of Donor Services at The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, has suggestions on how to help in the relief and recovery efforts in the region:

ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT IN RELIEF & RECOVERY

Team Rubicon

There are many United States-based disaster relief organizations that have responded to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Fiona, just as they have following each and every other disaster in recent years. Our suggestion of Team Rubicon, a Los Angeles-based international nonprofit, is fueled by their relief and rebuild efforts following Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Team Rubicon spent several years in Puerto Rico rebuilding and has deployed teams of Greyshirts, volunteers who are former members of the military. They respond to disaster in the same way they responded to their military deployments. Team Rubicon is particularly skilled at “muck and gut,” the important work following a flooding event. By all accounts Hurricane Fiona is as much a flood event as it is a wind event, if not more so.

To Give Online: Visit TeamRubiconUSA.org
To Mail a Donation: Team Rubicon, 5230 Pacific Concourse Drive, Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Puerto Rico PRxPR Relief and Rebuild Fund

PRxPR in short is Puerto Rico for Puerto Rico. It was founded by Puerto Rico business leaders born and raised in Puerto Rico and now living in the U.S. who wanted to give back.

The nonprofit organization was originally founded in 2017 after Hurricane Maria and is a no-overhead fund that is focused on both short- and long-term aid — including food, clean water and renewable energy — by working with trusted grassroots organizations across the island to ensure the communities with the greatest need receive support.

To Give Online: Visit prxpr.org
To Mail a Donation: PRxPRRR, 417 Wolfs Lane, Pelham, NY 10803

Taller Salud | Puerto Rico

Taller Salud is women-led organization founded 40 years ago in Puerto Rico. It was active in both relief and recovery after Hurricane Maria, with support ranging from distribution of diapers, hygiene products, and water in the earliest days, to rebuilding homes. An Impact Report from Taller Salud’s work following Hurricane Maria helps show the strength of their efforts to assist in recovery.

At the core of this organization’s work is the belief that “when women prosper, their communities become stronger.” On Sept. 19, Taller Salud launched the Maria Fund, in collaboration with the Federation of Teachers and other grassroots groups, to respond to Hurricane Fiona.

To Give Online: Visit TallerSalud.com
To Mail a Donation: PO Box 524, Loíza, Puerto Rico 00772