FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David Kaplan, Executive Director
952-255-6822, david@nechama.org
NECHAMA – Jewish Response to Disaster
Deploying from Minnesota to Respond to Hurricane Florence
Experts predict potentially historic storm to affect East Coast
Burnsville, Minnesota, September 11, 2018 – NECHAMA – Jewish Response to Disaster is preparing to respond to the effects of Hurricane Florence, potentially one of the most powerful storms to have hit the United States East Coast.
NECHAMA will provide critical assistance in the early days immediately after the storm. Staff and volunteers will engage in muck and gut operations as well as debris removal and chainsaw work.
“NECHAMA is working to respond to the anticipated needs of affected communities in the aftermath of what may be one of the largest storms to ever strike this part of the country,” said David Kaplan, Executive Director of NECHAMA. “Our focus will be, as it always has been, on at-risk communities including elderly households, those with small children, and households with disabled individuals. Those we assist are generally low and lower income with little or no insurance to rely on during events like this.”
On Sunday, September 16th, 2018, NECHAMA assets and staff will begin to deploy east to stage in Atlanta until the storm has left the region and local authorities give the all clear to enter the disaster area. For those interested in donating, volunteering, or who are looking for more information, we ask you to visit our website: www.nechama.org.
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About NECHAMA – Jewish Response to Disaster
NECHAMA – Jewish Response to Disaster is a 501(c)(3) disaster relief organization providing natural disaster response, rebuild, and preparedness training services nationwide. Guided by the Jewish values of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, performing good acts, and helping the stranger, NECHAMA offers a helping hand in the spirit of goodwill, creating mutual respect and understanding among people.
NECHAMA is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is based in Burnsville, Minnesota.
Our Model
We believe that natural disasters disproportionately affect communities that are underserved, low and lower-income, and underinsured or uninsured. Families in these communities are less insulated against the economic shock that often accompanies disasters, and suffer from substandard infrastructure which exacerbates the physical damage from these events.
In addition to large-scale events that make the national news, NECHAMA focuses on low-attention disasters with at-risk communities, embedding our teams with local residents, and embracing our host communities. Whereas families with means are able to address home repairs or move permanently from regularly affected areas, NECHAMA assists households who are left to fend for themselves without adequate resources to address damage to their homes or move to a less-affected area.
We also recognize the effect our actions have on an already fragile ecosystem, stressed in the aftermath of natural disaster. NECHAMA strives to minimize the environmental impact of our work on communities, looking at our use of chemicals in response, sanitation, minimizing our consumption of fossil fuels, and addressing how we remove debris when possible.
Grounded in Tikkun Olam, we honor our shared history and make a commitment to our shared future by using our projects to affect social change while focusing on the organizational stewardship of our environment.