URI Responds to hurricane disaster in US Gulf States

1.  A letter sent to mayors and governors in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katarina.

Greetings of love and peace.

On behalf of the Global Council and members of the United Religions Initiative working to create cultures of peace, justice and healing in 60 countries, we extend our deepest sympathy to all those who are suffering because of Hurricane Katrina and all those who are working heroically reclaim life in the midst of unimaginable devastation.

Please know that members of our community around the world are praying for all of you, and, where possible, are contributing materially to support the efforts to reclaim life and rebuild what has been destroyed. 

We wish you every blessing in these challenging times.

Faithfully, 
                       

The Rev. Canon Charles P. Gibbs             
URI Executive Director

Yoland Trevino
Chair, URI Global Council

2.  URI Members recommend ways to help 

• CNN provides an extensive list of web of websites recommended by disaster officials, in the following areas: Donate & Volunteer  |  Get Help  |  Locate the Missing  |  Find Local Information .  The overall site address is:  http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/katrina/help.center/#dv.
  
  
• The Red Cross is a leading aid provider, with well-coordinated efforts:
  American Red Cross National Headquarters
  2025 E Street, NW
  Washington, DC 20006
  Phone: (202) 303-4498
  To make a donation: (800) HELP-NOW (800-435-7669) https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp
  

• Two sites recommended by URI Global Staff for charities assisting in the relief effort:
  
  Charity Navigator, researching highly-rated charities:  http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/68/cpid/310.htm
  
  Network for Good,  Resources for Nonprofit  Operations:  http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/animal_environ/hurricanes/ 
  
  

3.     We Invite Stories of Interfaith Response to this disaster 

We welcome stories of people of different faiths working together to help relieve the suffering and loss caused by Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. What brought these people together? What about this story did you find most inspiring and uplifting? Are there any lessons or best practices that can be learned from this experience?

You are welcome to submit stories to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or add them as comments at http://www.uri-na.org/wp/archives/19.