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Donate in Response to Disaster

How UUSC Responds to Humanitarian Crises

UUSC responds strategically to disaster situations where human rights are threatened, focusing on the rights of marginalized and oppressed people. We work with the understanding that disasters, be they wars or hurricanes, tend to hurt most those who are already marginalized in society.

In times of disaster, our members and supporters look to us to provide leadership and an effective relief response that reflects the values underlying universal human rights, such as the equality and dignity of all people.

Because local responders are usually the first and best responders after disaster, UUSC works in close partnership with like-minded local organizations already working on the ground. Their firsthand knowledge of their communities enhances their ability to assist and support people in crisis, particularly marginalized groups, such as minorities, who are often left behind by traditional relief efforts.

After large-scale disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami, UUSC and the Unitarian Universalist Association launch a joint appeal for humanitarian relief donations. Together, we have directed millions of dollars of relief aid towards disaster-affected communities in the United States and around the world.

UUSC is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

UUSC's Current Disaster Relief Appeals

Fixing vs. Empowering

As a longtime employee of UUSC's Institutional Advancement Department (read "fundraising") at UUSC, I've been asked many times to clarify the nature of our work and how it's funded, especially when it comes to our humanitarian relief work. In a time of humanitarian crisis, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami or the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, people wonder why they should donate to UUSC over, say, the Red Cross or Oxfam or any one of a number of charities providing direct aid to people around the world.

I tell them that if they want their money to be used immediately, they should donate elsewhere. There are many organizations out there that are ready to swoop into a disaster area on short notice to manage immediate relief efforts. However, if donors want their money to be thoughtfully granted to grassroots groups located in areas of great need and administered by program officers sensitive to the needs and concerns of the local people in ways that promote longterm solutions to issues faced by marginalized populations, then they should give to UUSC.

—Laurie Brunner, UUSC Prospect Research Assistant

Excerpted from her blog post "Fixing vs. Empowering"

Listed below are disaster relief appeals for which UUSC is currently taking donations.


UUSC Somalia and East Africa Relief Fund

UUSC is accepting donations to provide aid to the people affected by the devastating food insecurity in Somalia and the Horn of Africa. Read more about how UUSC is responding to the famine.

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
UUSC Somalia and East Africa Relief Fund
PO Box 808
Newark, NJ 07101-0808

UUA-UUSC Japan Relief Fund

UUSC is accepting donations to provide aid to the people affected by the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis in Japan. Read more about how UUSC is responding.

Unitarian Universalist Association
UUA-UUSC Japan Relief Fund
25 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108

UUSC-UUA Joint Pakistan Flood Relief Fund

UUSC is accepting donations to provide aid to the people affected by the devastating floods in Pakistan. Read more about how UUSC is responding to the floods.

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
UUSC-UUA Pakistan Flood Relief Fund
PO Box 808
Newark, NJ 07101-0808

UUSC-UUA Joint Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund

UUSC is accepting donations to provide aid to the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Read more about the earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince and UUSC's response.

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
UUSC-UUA Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund
PO Box 808
Newark, NJ 07101-0808

Gaza Humanitarian Crisis Fund

UUSC is accepting donations to provide aid to the people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Read more about UUSC's work responding to the crisis in Gaza.

UUSC Gaza Humanitarian Crisis Fund
PO Box 808
Newark, NJ 07101-0808

Darfur Relief

Humanitarian aid to refugees from and internally displaced people in the Darfur region of Sudan. Read more about UUSC's work responding to genocide in Darfur.

Darfur Relief Fund
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
PO Box 808
Newark, NJ 07101-0808
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