Rotary offers relief for victims of natural disasters

Although Rotary is not usually thought of as a disaster relief organization, Rotarians do their part to help victims of flood, fire, earthquake, drought, hurricanes, tornadoes and other calamities that occur locally, nationally and internationally.

Columbia-Patuxent members, plus those in Howard County’s other clubs and in Rotary District 7620, give assistance not only directly to the needy but also through contributions to Disaster Aid USA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit raising emergency funds. Our club made these recent donationsin conjunction with this partnership:

• $2,600 for disaster relief to the Hawaiian island of Maui, where the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century burnt the entire town of historic Lahaina to the ground, displacing thousands and killing more than 1,100. Disaster Aid USA is working in several different phases of recovery including meals, clean water solutions, debris cleanup and the long-term rebuilding process.

• $9,700 for disaster relief in Florida, where Hurricane Ian (September 2022) and Hurricane Idalia (August 2023) brought massive rainfall, damaging winds and catastrophic storm surges. Our donation helped purchase supplies, materials, miscellaneous goods and items needed as the rebuilding process continues for survivors. Disaster Aid USA sent three teams to Florida to assess and start cleanup operations in seven cities or communitiesfollowing Idalia’s rampage.

Additionally, in 2022 Columbia-Patuxent gave nearly $6,200 for Ukraine’s relief following the Russian invasion. Disaster Relief USA and District 7620’s focus was aid for refugees and persons or families displaced by war. Rotarians also identified high priority medical needs and were instrumental in getting and shipping $50,000 worth of emergency first aid kits and custom medical combat backpacks.

Our club contributed more than $13,000 in 2021 for a “breath of life” initiative that bought and shipped oxygen generators to India in response to the COVID pandemic. The generators made medical grade oxygen from ambient air and met critical needs in a country then experiencing 400,000 new cases daily. Our partner in this project was Disaster Aid International, another Rotary-sponsored organization that provides relief in emergencies.

Currently, Rotarians all over the world are lending helping hands – and giving much-needed funds – for Morrocco, where the strongest earthquake in a century killed thousands and destroyed many cities and villages – and to Libya, where heavy rainfall and severe floods have killed even more thousands and resulted in large-scale destruction affecting affects transportation and the food-supply chain.

Again, while Rotary’s chief aim is not disaster relief, it’s clear that Rotarians – members of one of the largest service organizations in the world – believe that meeting humanitarian needs for people in distress serves goodwill, peace, appreciation and understanding for all.

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Rotary offers relief for victims of natural disasters

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