Islamic Relief Collaborates with American Red Cross in Sheltering Thousands of Displaced in California

Alexandria, VA – Islamic Relief USA is collaborating with the American Red Cross to respond to the immediate needs of around 200,000 residents who were evacuated out of Oroville, CA. Heavy rains last week had caused the lake level to rise until the water began to pour down the emergency spillway, raising concerns among officials of a possible failure of the spillway.

Islamic Relief USA will provide highly qualified shelter fundamental volunteers to assist in the emergency response efforts. The team is currently working in ARC shelters, attending to the residents’ needs and rearranging other shelters to handle the influx of evacuated residents.

“It is our duty to help our neighbors in need, and we will do everything within our capacity to make sure that aid is given to those most affected by the situation,” said Hani Hamwi, Islamic Relief USA’s Disaster Response Team Manager. “It is very important that we all work together to help those who are affected the most by the evacuation. These are people who had to leave their homes and seek refuge in shelters, some of them with special needs and disabilities that need immediate attention,” Hamwi added.

Islamic Relief USA has worked with the American Red Cross in numerous previous disaster relief efforts across the United States. In 2014, Islamic Relief USA signed a national Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the American Red Cross, the first formal partnership of its kind between the Red Cross and a Muslim response organization in the United States. Since its inception in 2011, IRUSA’s Disaster Response Team has been deployed to two dozen major disaster situations in the United States and has trained and certified more than 2,500 disaster responders.

Media Contact:
Mayssoun Olabi
molabi@irusa.org, 703-370-7202

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Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization. Its mission is to provide relief and development in a dignified manner regardless of gender, race, or religion, and works to empower individuals in their communities and give them a voice in the world. IRUSA’s programs benefit more than 10 million of people each year in over 40 countries around the world, including in the United States.

Islamic Relief USA meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity monitoring group affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system. Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.