To aid in that effort, Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett generated headlines in Hebrew and English yesterday by posting an appeal on his Facebook page to give money to the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. As of noon today, JFNA has raised$444,957.65 from 4,042 donors, and we know that the fundraising efforts of our communities and their emergency allocations have pushed the overall result to seven figures.

 

Yesterday we began work to convene JVOAD, the network of disaster response organizations that helped coordinate the overall Jewish response to Hurricane Karina (2005) and Superstorm Sandy (2012). In this role, our focus is on maximizing resources and minimizing duplication of effort. 

 

JFNA’s Emergency Committee is convening to start establishing guidelines for responding to Hurricane Harvey, and to start approving initial grants. We will first be assisting with immediate needs like locating and relocating residents, and ensuring they have the basics: food, blankets, clothes, a satellite phone to reach their loved ones.

 

The next step will focus on homes: removing water, mud, and furniture; ripping out drywall; and pulling out floorboards, a process that, for just one home, means several days of work for 10 volunteers from partner groups like NECHAMA - Jewish Response to Disaster. The actual rebuilding and renovating comes in the months that follow.

 

You can read about the work of the Emergency Committee here.

There is more work to be done. You can still help.  Donate Here.