Friday, Sept. 10, 2004/9:00 am EDT

Emergency financial aid has already been sent to Florida for Hurricane Frances relief. This week, Catholic Charities USA gave Catholic Charities of Miami and Catholic Charities of Venice each a $10,000 emergency grant for their emergency disaster relief work.

"We anticipate providing other Florida agencies with emergency relief grants as well as sending even more funds to the impacted agencies to help with the long-term recovery process," said Deacon Gerald Collins, director of disaster response for Catholic Charities USA.

Catholic Charities of Miami will use the funds from Catholic Charities USA to provide food and water to victims and establish three recovery sites throughout the diocese.

For Catholic Charities of Venice, this will be the second emergency grant the agency has gotten from Catholic Charities USA in recent weeks. The agency received $10,000 for Hurricane Charley relief just a couple weeks ago.

Having been already battered by Charley, high winds and flooding from Frances took an additional toll on the residence in several counties the agency serves. Prior to Frances hitting, Catholic Charities of Venice estimated that it was helping more than 20,000 hurricane victims a day.

About Disaster Response Office

Catholic Charities USA, which has been commissioned by the U.S. Catholic Bishops to represent the Catholic community in times of domestic disaster, responds with emergency and long-term assistance as needed. Its Disaster Response Office connects the Church’s social service agencies and disaster planning offices across the nation.

For Catholic Charities Agencies:

Emergency Funding Request Form
Disaster Response Office

Catholic Charities USA is unable to accept contributions of food, clothing, blankets and other relief supplies. Grants are not made to individuals or groups. Its federal ID number is 53-0196620.

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