From the UCC Justice and Peace Action Network:
“Hope Shall Bloom” is the name of the UCC Hurricane Recovery Relief Fund. A goal of raising $3 million has been set for this effort, as one way to walk with survivors of Hurricane Katrina on their long road to recovery. We urge you to give generously to the aid programs which will address the needs of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. To donate and follow the UCC’s relief efforts click here.
You can also look for regional and local programs to help those who may be evacuated to your home state, since many people are being evacuated as far away from the Gulf Coast as Utah, Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan. Our brothers and sisters will need our help for many months and years.
Many of you have already given generously. Follow the link only in the, uh, unusual case that you don’t know where to make a donation.
Here’s the money quote:
Hurricane Katrina has dramatically exposed problems of race and class in our nation, and we must raise these critical questions in the months to come. We have seen with our own eyes the thousands of Americans who were failed by local, state and federal government rescue efforts. We also have seen how, in reality, they had already been abandoned by a government infrastructure that fails to provide basic social services. Even as members of Congress return from the August recess, they are preparing to consider a measure to repeal the estate tax. Proposals for further tax cuts in a time of such widespread need would further undermine an already weakened infrastructure.
We must loudly and persistently raise the difficult questions with government officials about the inadequacy of the response to Hurricane Katrina. Along with contributing to relief efforts, we must contribute our voices and advocacy efforts on behalf of justice for the most marginalized and vulnerable in our society. We must write, call, and fax our members of Congress to express our outrage and our intention to raise these questions until we get real answers.
To contact your members of Congress, call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Go for it.
