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Beginning at 3:30 p.m. on October 2, 2005, the next
$500,000 in donations to the joint UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast
Relief Fund will be matched through the generous support of
the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock in
Manhasset, N.Y. Current donations have reached $3,000,987. Thanks to
the match offered by the UU Congregation of Shelter Rock,
the total amount raised is now $3,500,987.
Thank you
sincerely for your compassion and generosity!
Make a donation to the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief
Fund
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A Letter
from the Rev. William G. Sinkford, UUA President,
and Charlie Clements, UUSC President and CEO
Dear
Friends:
It is with
gratitude and joy that we share some very special news. A
generous challenge grant has been offered by the
UU Congregation at Shelter Rock to benefit the
UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund. Beginning with
contributions dated October 2, 2005, Shelter Rock will match each dollar given to the
fund, up to a total of $500,000.
This
challenge grant represents a deep faith in the generosity of
Unitarian Universalists, a faith that is well-founded. Thanks to
your previous contributions, the Gulf Coast Relief Fund now
provides a source of help and hope to people whose lives and
ministries were tragically interrupted by hurricanes Katrina and
Rita. Because of you, communities will be healed and lives will
be transformed. We are deeply moved by the overwhelming response
and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
As we begin
to assess the scope of the damage in the Gulf Coast region, it
is clear that the recovery process will need to continue for
many years. If Shelter Rock's challenge is met, the combined
gifts will increase the fund by an additional one million
dollars. This is money that is sorely needed. The destruction
left by the hurricanes is staggering, especially so in the most
marginalized communities in the region. Additional contributions
to the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund will allow us to provide
ongoing assistance to those most in need. Furthermore, three UU
churches in the New Orleans area have been badly damaged, and at
least one is beyond repair.
The Gulf Coast Relief Panel and UUSC’s program of rights in
humanitarian crises have committed to providing long-term and
effective interventions and solutions, and they will be making
intentional, judicious grants in order to make the best use of
the funds.
This tragedy
has tested us like no other, but it has also given us an
opportunity to respond in a way that is truly transformative. We
ask you now to rise to the challenge offered by our generous
friends in the Shelter Rock congregation, to envision what can
be when justice-loving people join hands and hearts, and to make
this vision a reality. Please give generously so that together
we may extend hope and healing to more of our brothers and
sisters through a widening circle of care and compassion.
In faith,
The Rev. William
G. Sinkford
President, Unitarian Universalist Association
Charlie
Clements
President and CEO, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
